Crazy in Love
by SpringHiller09
Summary: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? For Bella, she was just trying to get over her high school boyfriend. Edward was just trying to let loose before starting a new job. She's seventeen going on eighteen. He's twenty-six going on twenty-seven. Relationships can be messy but go along with these two as they realize how messy relationships really are.
1. Our Secret Moments

**Chapter One: Our Secret Moments**

* * *

"This should be fun," Rosalie hummed as we stood in the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel in Vegas.

I looked around and smiled as I made eye contact with an incredibly sexy man. "Coming with you is the best decision I've ever made."

"It's only just begun," She twirled her blonde hair as a bellboy came and gathered our bags.

Rosalie and I had known each other since diapers. Our fathers were partners in one of Chicago's best law firms. We lived right across the street from each other and spent almost every waking moment together. We knew each other's secrets and had made a vow to never rat on the other. She covered for me and I covered for her. We were best friends and no one had managed to tear us apart no matter how much some tried.

"By the end of this trip, you will have forgotten completely about Liam," She said. "Trust me. We'll get you laid by an older guy and dumb seventeen-year-old dick will just be a distant memory."

I sighed. "Who's Liam?" I asked trying to sound cool about everything. But the truth was, I was still kind of hurting. Liam and I had been dating for almost two years. I lost my virginity to him. We weren't planning our future just yet, but I didn't think we were going to end things so suddenly.

But two weeks ago, Liam came to my house and broke up with me. He said he needed to be a free man and we shouldn't get too serious since our senior year was coming up. I was completely shocked as he walked away so easily. He didn't even bat an eyelash as he broke my heart. He apologized for hurting me and then he just left. I cried myself to sleep that night and Rosalie had done everything to bring me out of my funk.

But three days ago she told me she was tired of sitting in my room with me. She encouraged me to come with her to do literally anything else, but I told her I didn't want to go out and risk seeing Liam with another girl. Since he was able to walk away so easily, I was pretty sure he was seeing someone else but he'd never admit that to me.

That's when she pushed me to join her and her family in Vegas for the week. Her father came here to drink and gamble, her mother came here to spend her father's money and Rosalie came here because it was better than sitting at home for a week. I was always invited but I had never been that drawn to Vegas as a place to go on vacation. But I needed the distraction and Rosalie would be there.

The two of us went to Seattle a day before our flight and spent a lot of money on clothes my father would have made me return if he saw me in them. We stayed at a hotel and Rosalie flirted with one of the waiters and had a bottle of champagne up to our room. We were giggly all night and I knew that if we weren't even in Vegas yet, we would have fun.

It was going to be a great week. I was sure of it.

Mr. Hale got us checked into the hotel and we were given our room key. It was two doors down from theirs and we were pretty much on our own for the week. We were seventeen years old, we didn't need a babysitter. Plus, he wasn't here to spend time with his family.

Once we got into our room and got settled a bit, Rosalie handed me my fake ID.

I smiled at it. "This looks so real."

"I know," She smiled. "Paul did a great job. I mean, I paid him enough so if they looked fake I would have killed him."

"So, where are we going tonight?"

She laughed. "Oh, Bella. We don't plan Vegas. It just happens," I raised my eyebrows at her. "Stop being such a fun sucker. Just...let things happen the way they're supposed to happen. Get out of your fucking head."

"Okay," I smiled as she opened her suitcase and pulled out her swimsuit. It was the middle of July in Nevada. I was fucking hot already and it was only ten o'clock in the morning.

I followed her lead and got into my suit. We grabbed our towels, sunscreen, and sunglasses. We got down to the pool and Rosalie was walking around like she owned the place. I was confident in my body but there was something about Rosalie that made me look like a shy, timid girl.

Since it was such a nice hotel, the pool was crowded with cheating wives and hot businessmen. In the time it took us to get from the elevator to the pool deck, I'd already seen four couples making out in places they thought they couldn't be seen. I wondered if the people they were dry humping in public were people they came with.

Rose and I found a set of lounge chairs close to the pool and laid our towels down. We put on some sunscreen because we both had fair skin and didn't want to spend the week in pain due to sunburn, and laid down in our chairs. Rosalie put in one earbud and turned on her music and I opened my worn copy of _Emma_ and started to read.

I might have been in Vegas to get over Liam, but I needed to have a good book with me at all times.

I was so into my book, I didn't even realize when something blocked my sun. Rose noticed though and pulled her earbud out of her ear and looked up at what was creating the shade.

"Hey!" She sighed. I looked over at her a smirked. I loved Rosalie, but you had to get to know her before she let you see her sweet side. "You're blocking my sun," She spat. I marked my spot and closed it. When I faced her again, she smiling. And it wasn't just a polite smile. It was the kind of smile you have when you wanna jump someone. She went from pissed to smiling in two seconds so I figured a hot guy was the culprit. I looked up at him and gulped.

It was a hot guy alright.

"Sorry," He batted his eyelashes. "Are these seats taken?" He nodded to the chairs next to me. People had been sitting there but I guess they had left while I was reading.

I shook my head. "Nope. Take 'em."

"Thanks," He winked and flagged down whoever he was with. Another hot guy followed him over and they each pulled out their hotel towels and sat down. I wanted to play it cool and go back to reading, but I was finding it difficult to concentrate when I could feel him looking at me.

I closed my book again and turned to him. He was gorgeous. He didn't look older than twenty-five and he had an incredible smile. I tried hard not to look down at his abdomen, but I failed. He was fucking ripped and I sighed. Liam was cute, but he was butt ugly compared to this guy.

Still trying to play it cool, I removed my sunglasses and looked him right in the eyes.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

His eyes widened like he was embarrassed I'd caught him staring at him. "I was just trying to see what you were reading."

"Really?" I was caught off guard. Rosalie had made me buy a pretty revealing swimsuit so I assumed he was checking out my boobs. I was also very aware that he was just saying that so he didn't come off as a perve. I decided to just play along and I showed him the cover.

He smiled. "I'm a sucker for Jane Austen."

"You are?" I asked, still unsure if he was just saying that. Most guys didn't even know who she was, let alone one of her novels.

"We read Pride and Prejudice in my AP English class," He explained. "I pretended to hate it like the other guys in my class but I secretly loved it."

I grinned. "Prove it. Favorite Jane Austen novel?"

" _Mansfield Park,"_ He told me and I was surprised it wasn't _Pride and Prejudice_ since it was her most well-known book (and since it was the book her read for school) _._

I smiled in agreement. "That's a good one."

"I'm Edward," He said, smiling at me again. Damn...his smile was perfect. "And that's my older brother, Jasper." He pointed to a guy walking across the pool with two beers in his hands.

"Bella," I smiled. "And that's Rosalie," I pointed to Rosalie who was pretending not to be watching us. I knew her though and she was listening to every word we said to each other.

"Sister?"

"Basically," I giggled. "We've been best friends since we were babies. We're neighbors and our dads are partners."

"Gottcha,"

"How old are you?" I asked. I looked for any indication that he was married, but I didn't see a ring. Then again he probably wouldn't wear it to go swimming. My father never wore his when we'd go swimming when we were kids.

He smiled. "I just turned twenty-six yesterday. That's why we're here."

"Happy birthday," I smiled and he bit his lip like I was making him nervous or something.

"Thanks."

He didn't really look like a party guy so I wondered what he was doing in Vegas. "Did your brother drag you here?" I asked.

He nodded. "I just finished law school and got a job with a pretty big law firm," He explained. "Jasper said I needed a few days to unwind and have some fun before I went into the cooperate world."

"He's right."

"What about you? How old are you?" He asked. Shit. He'd never keep flirting with me once he found out how old I really was. "Why are you here in Vegas?"

"Oh I'm..."

"We're twenty-one," Rosalie lied as she sat up and removed her headphones. "We're celebrating the end of summer before we go back to school." I stared at her. I didn't like deliberately lying to people when they asked a question.

"Where do you go to school?"

"IU," Rosalie lied. Again. I hoped he wouldn't ask what we were majoring in.

"That's a good school," He commented. "I looked into going there for my undergrad, but I ended up at Northwestern."

"I like Northwestern a lot," I told him honestly and Rosalie slapped my arm telling me to shut up about college.

"Is the start of school the only reason you came here?" He asked.

Rosalie giggled. "Nope. Bella here is getting over a break-up," She answered for me. "So, yes. She's single."

"Rose," I mumbled but she ignored me. Rosalie and I were complete opposites which is why our friendship worked so perfectly. I had always been more cautious but Rosalie always threw caution to the wind and did whatever she was feeling in that moment.

"What about you?" She asked. "Are you single…" She hadn't heard his name.

"Edward," He smirked.

"Are you single, Edward?" She asked and I wondered if she was wanting to hook up with him. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for him to say he was married or engaged to a beautiful girl his age.

He nodded. "Yep. Law school doesn't allow for much time to date."

"How long will you be here?" Rose asked and I sat back and let her talk to him. I was obviously open to getting over Liam, but one night stands never appealed to me. And this guy was in a very different place in his life and was probably just looking to get laid. I didn't judge him for that but I also knew Rose wasn't opposed to just having sex.

She wasn't a slut or anything. She just liked having fun with really hot guys.

"Just the weekend," He said. "My brother said a weekend was all we needed."

"Brother?" Rosalie smirked as the man who Edward pointed out earlier finally made his way to the chairs. He handed Edward his beer and sat down next to him and smiled at us.

"Hello, ladies," He smiled as he took a drink. "I'm Jasper."

"Hi, Jasper," Rosalie smiled and waved. "I'm Rosalie and this is Bella." I waved a hello.

"I should probably warn you that I'm happily engaged," He laughed.

Rosalie sighed. "The good ones are always taken," She nudged me. "I'm parched. Jasper, would you like to come with me to get a drink."

"Rose, he just handed Edward a drink."

"I know but...I don't know where to get a drink," She looked at Jasper and practically winked at him. She did hear that he was engaged...right? She stared at him for a few seconds before bobbing her head between Edward and I. I rolled my eyes once I understood where she was going with this and he seemed to understand too.

"I'd love to show you, Rosalie," He got up and they walked off towards the drinks. Edward sighed and turned to me.

"Rosalie seems..."

"Intense?" I laughed and he nodded. "Her hearts in the right place."

"So is Jasper's," He said. "But he doesn't get it. He's been with Alice for five years and they were friends long before they started dating. He doesn't understand how hard it is in the dating world."

"Who says I'm trying to date anyone?" I smirked and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"No one. I guess I'll take what I can get."

"And what if I don't give you anything?"

He smiled. "Then I guess I'll have to find someone else."

I didn't know what else to say. Rosalie was a natural flirt and made it look so easy when she talked to guys. Liam and I fell in love at a slow and steady pace. We were friends first and it slowly transitioned into something more. I didn't know how to bat my eyelashes and say witty things to get a guys attention.

Thankfully, Rosalie and Jasper were back with drinks before the conversation could go any further. She handed me a bright, coral drink with a paper umbrella and fun straw. I looked up at her, silently asking her what it was.

"I got you a Mai Tai," She smiled and I took a sip. It was really strong but tasted really good. I could see Edward smiling as he took a drink of his beer.

"What?" I giggled. "Do you have a problem with my friends choice of drink?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. Those kinds of drinks are just too sweet for me."

"Maybe you're just too uptight," I shrugged as I took another sip. He was right. The drink was really sweet, but I'd tasted beer a few times and it was gross. I stuck to the sweeter cocktails and wines whenever I did drink.

He lifted his eyebrows at me. "Maybe you're right."

"Edward is definitely uptight," Jasper laughed. "He didn't have any fun in high school _or_ college."

"Why?" He asked his brother. "Because I actually studied?"

"That's all you did," Jasper rolled his eyes. "He never lets loose. I had to practically drag him here. He's twenty-six years old and he didn't want to come to Vegas with his brother for a weekend."

Edward shrugged. "I have a lot going on. And you were practically given on job on a silver platter with dad. I had to work for the job I got."

"I work hard," Jasper shrugged.

Edward laughed. "And play harder."

"I'm gonna go get in the water," I sighed as I pushed myself up and walked towards the water. I shook my hips a little more knowing that Edward was probably watching me. I jumped into the pool and then pulled myself partially out of the water to look at him. Edward was practically drooling and Rosalie was smiling at me with approval.

"How's the water?" Edward finally called and I shrugged as I pushed my boobs together even more. They were almost falling out of my top and I'd caught the attention of a few other guys near us. I went back under the water and swam to the other side of the pool.

I was only a little bit disappointed when Edward didn't follow me.

Rosalie and I spent the majority of the afternoon at the pool. Eventually, the guys left and some loud college girls took their spots. I wanted them to stay, but Jasper said he had plans for his brother that they couldn't be late for. Rose was sure it was some sort of hotel room stripper, but I had a feeling Edward was classier than that.

Rosalie pointed out that his big brother wasn't.

After the pool, we went back up to our hotel room to get changed for dinner with her parents. We pulled on less revealing sundresses and put on a little bit of makeup. As much as I loved Rosalie's parents, they weren't as attentive to her as my parents were with me. She was sure her father wouldn't notice what she was wearing, but I wanted to look a little more age appropriate in front of the rents.

After dinner was over, Rosalie and I went back upstairs to change again. We pulled on ridiculously short, tight dresses and put on more makeup. Rosalie curled my hair and pinned half of it up and out of my face. When I looked in the mirror...I hardly recognized myself.

"I look like a slut," I blurted out and Rosalie slapped my arm.

"Shut up. You look like me."

"It's too short."

"It's fine."

"It's too tight."

"You look great, Bella. We're in Vegas. No one here is ever going to see us again. Just let loose and have some fun," she said. "It's why we're here."

"I thought we were here because you wanted to get over Liam?"

"By letting loose and having fun," She left out the duh but it was implied. After she finished doing her hair, we went downstairs to wait for the Uber.

The club she'd brought us to was packed. We got in easily with our fake ID's and she pulled me inside and right to the bar. She ordered us a few drinks and they were really strong. Again. After the Mai Tai this afternoon I was already feeling it. I didn't want to get too drunk because as much as she wanted me to get laid...I just wasn't that person. I didn't like the idea of hooking up with a random guy just to get over my boyfriend.

After about half an hour and one drink, I saw her looking at the door and she was smiling. Like her evil, _I'm up to no good_ smile. I knew asking her about it would be pointless so I turned around.

And there was Edward looking really sexy in his khaki shorts and a clean, white t-shirt. Jasper was smiling as he clapped his brother on the back when he saw us at our table.

I turned back to Rosalie. "Did you do this?"

"No," She lied. "I just told them what club we'd be going to and when we'd be here. I didn't invite them."

"If he wasn't engaged, I would tell you to marry Jasper because you're two fucking peas in a pod," I rolled my eyes. I liked Edward and he was a lot older than me. I didn't want to make myself sound dumb or younger than I was in front of me.

"Look who we have here," Jasper shouted over the music as they approached us. "Isn't that funny."

"Really funny," Edward rolled his eyes. "I promise we aren't stalking you...well I'm not stalking you. My brother might be."

"Rosalie mentioned you might stop by," Jasper shrugged innocently. "I thought it sounded like a nice place. I didn't think you'd really be here."

"You're a terrible liar," Edward yelled but Jasper pretended not to hear him. Jasper took Rosalie's hand and led her to the bar so he could order a drink. Then they sat down at a table close by and pretended not to be staring at us.

"Looks like we have overly enthusiastic wingmen," I smiled as I twiddled my thumbs.

He smiled. "Wanna drink?"

"Sure," I nodded. We walked over to the bar. He ordered a beer and I asked for a Screwdriver. When I took a drink, I made a face.

"Is it not good?"

"It's just strong," I shrugged. "I'm not much of a drinker."

"Me either. This is the most I've drunk in a day since I turned twenty-one."

Edward and I sat down at a seat further away from dumb and dumber so we could actually talk. Well...we tried to talk but the music was too damn loud. After we both finished our drinks, he asked me to dance. I wasn't a dancer, but the two drinks I'd had were starting to take effect and I agreed as I stood up and let him lead me onto the dancefloor. I could see Rosalie and Jasper high five as they pretended to not watch us.

"You think they'll get tired of this?" I asked Edward.

He laughed. "No. Jasper has been trying to get me laid for months."

"Oh."

"I've been busy with the bar and exams and finding a job," He shrugged. "Girls just weren't on my radar."

"I'm guessing girls are always on his radar?"

He nodded. " _Alice_ is. He's always been a ladies man, though. I'm actually surprised he's settling down this early."

"You two seem pretty different."

"So do you and Rosalie."

I shrugged. "She's my rock. If it weren't for her insisting I come with her I'd probably still be sitting in my PJ's and eating ice cream to get over Liam."

"He's an idiot for breaking up with you," Edward said but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear that so I pretended I didn't.

Edward and I spent the majority of the night together. He kept buying me drinks and I kept accepting them. We continued to dance and by the fourth drink, I was grinding on him. I could feel his erection through his shorts and it really turned me on. I was ready to jump him in the middle of the club but I wasn't quite that drunk yet.

I was surprised when I heard the familiar tune of _Naughty Girl_ by Beyonce starting to play. Sure, it had been remixed to fit the vibe more but I still remembered secretly listening to this song with Rosalie when we were in sixth grade because it made us feel more grown up.

I turned around and faced Edward. His eyes were kind of glossed over like he was really enjoying dancing with me. I slowly ran my hands up his chest and I could feel his defined muscles through his shirt. He gripped my hips and dug his fingers into my skin. My breath hitched as he slowly dragged his fingers up my side, up to my neck.

"Fuck," He breathed as he wrapped his hand around my neck. He bent down and kissed me. I saw fireworks when our lips touched and I instantly felt a need between my legs. I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes to give him a better angle. He swiped his tongue along my bottom lip and I greedily opened my mouth, letting him in. I just needed him even closer.

He pulled back slightly and kissed my jaw all the way down to my neck. He found a sweet spot and sucked lightly making me whimper. I know I was saying I wasn't one to just meet some random guy and have sex with them but what the hell did I know? There was no way I was leaving this club alone and there was absolutely no fucking way I was leaving Vegas without having hot sex with Edward.

I opened my eyes for half a second and glanced over to where I last saw Rosalie and Jasper. They were both watching up with their mouths gaping open in surprise.

I pushed Edward away at that moment because if we were going to do this I didn't want an audience.

We stared at each other while we tried catching our breath. I didn't even realize how consumed we were with each other before I heard the whistles of random people surrounding us.

"Wanna get out of here?" I asked and he just nodded. HE took my hand and we walked over to Rosalie and Jasper. Edward told Jasper to not even think of showing up at his room until he was told to and I gave Rosalie his room number just in case. She promised she'd cover for me if for some reason her parents showed up. We both knew they wouldn't, but it was still good to know she had my back.

Before going back to the resort, I dragged Rosalie to the bathroom with me while Edward waited for the Uber to come to get us. When we got there, Rosalie squealed and hugged me. She handed me a few condoms just in case I'd lost the ones she already gave me or Edward didn't have them. I splashed some cool water on my face and Rosalie helped me fix my makeup so I didn't look like such a mess. She walked me out to the curb where Edward was waiting with the car.

"Have fun," She whispered. "Be safe."

I nodded. "Always." Edward took my hand and we slid in the backseat. The driver clarified the address with Edward before leaving and started driving. Edward put his hand on my bare knee and if we had been alone, I would have jumped him there. The five-minute drive to the resort seemed to take forever and when we were dropped off, Edward's lips were immediately on mine.

We drunkenly stumbled through the lobby, not caring who could see us. I was just grateful we didn't run into Rose's parents. When we got to the elevator, there were a few people also waiting with us. Edward put his hand on the small of my back and I gulped.

I wanted to tell the other people to fuck off and find another way up to their room.

When the elevator doors opened on his floor, he bent down and kissed me. We stumbled out of the elevator and I heard some guys whooping for us as the doors shut. We somehow made it to his room without tripping over each other and when he pulled his room key out, I did something completely out of character for me.

I cupped his dick through his pants.


	2. Got Me Walkin'

**Chapter Two: Got Me Walkin'**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

You would think that growing up in the same house with the same parents would make my older brother and me pretty similar. But we were complete opposites and sometimes our parents even questioned if we were really brothers.

While Jasper was loud and a total flirt, I was quieter and more reserved when it came to girls. He dated several girls during his high school and college girls and I had a steady girlfriend in high school and college. He was the outgoing Cullen and I was quiet and studied constantly.

Our dad was a businessman and told my brother and I that we would have job security after graduating college. I knew my dad worked hard to build his company, but Jasper took the easy way out. He sailed through college, with good grades, but knowing he had a job no matter what his grades were like. Dad only required us to keep up a GPA of 3.5 or above to get a job and Jasper did that easily.

I was different though. I was ambitious and I wouldn't be happy knowing the reason I had a job was that my father was the boss. My parents never expected me to work for Dad and they were really happy when I told them about my dreams to become a lawyer.

Once I figured out what I wanted to do with my life, I didn't have much of a social life.

Towards the end of undergrad, I spent most weekends studying, which caused the demise of my year and a half relationship with Katie. She told me that I never paid attention to her and I argued that I was trying to get into law school. It really bummed me out, but I didn't have that much time to be upset about it. I had exams to take and applications to fill out.

I breathed a little easier when the acceptance letter from Penn State. Leaving Illinois was really hard, but I had my parents and brother's support so it made going to Pennsylvania a lot easier. I spent three years in Pennsylvania studying, taking tests, going to internships and doing anything I could to ensure I would get a good job after graduating.

I was really happy when a law firm in Chicago contacted me towards the end of law school. It was a smaller firm, but they took on some really big cases in the city. After going through all of my options, I decided this was my best option since it was so close to home. After graduating, we moved my things to an apartment in Chicago and I was starting my new life next Monday.

It was crazy to think that after all my hard work I was finally going to get to practice law in a real courtroom.

But I was also really nervous. This was the first time I was going to really have to prove myself to everyone. I knew I was capable. I wouldn't have passed the bar exam or been offered this job if I wasn't. But it was still nervewracking.

Which is why Jasper dragged me to Vegas for the weekend. He told me I needed to let loose for once in my life and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. I had also just celebrated my twenty-sixth birthday and Jasper said it was practically a crime I hadn't been to Vegas yet. I knew it was pointless to argue with him, but I tried really hard to get out of it.

But after our first day by the pool, I thanked my brother for dragging me here.

"You liked her," Jasper mocked as we got ready to go eat somewhere. I threw my wet towel at him and tried not to blush like a teenage girl. But, he was right. Bella was really cool and she wasn't just set of boobs. I always had a picture in my head of what Vegas would be like. I thought it would be one giant party with everyone drinking all day.

It was refreshing to find Bella reading Jane Austin by the pool this afternoon.

I shrugged. "She was pretty cool."

"She's hot, man."

"What's your fiancee up to tonight?" I asked. I had to give Alice props for being so okay with Jasper coming here. I knew he was faithful and he loved Alice so much it was annoying. But, their wedding was only a few months away and I'm not sure I'd be so okay with my fiance coming to Vegas alone. I thought she would have wanted to come, but she claimed to have too much to do with the wedding and she trusted my brother.

"She's having dinner with her bridesmaids," He smiled as his phone started ringing. "Speaking of Alice," He picked up his phone and left my room. I ran some gel in my hair to try and tame it before pulling on a pair of khaki shorts and a plain t-shirt. When Jasper came back I was just finishing getting my shoes on.

"How's the Mrs?" I teased.

He rolled his eyes and put up his middle finger. "She's great."

"Good to hear."

He smirked. "She said you need to get laid this weekend."

"Thank her for the unwanted advice from me," I sighed. Why was everyone around me so worried about my sex life? I wasn't girl crazy like Jasper was before Alice, but I wasn't celibate or anything. I just had other things on my mind.

"You should try hooking up with Bella."

"She's so young," I shrugged.

"She's twenty-one, grandpa."

I sighed. I didn't really want to have this conversation again. I grabbed my wallet and phone and turned to Jasper. "Can we go now?"

Jasper and I headed down to the hotel restaurant. I looked around for Bella, but after I didn't see her I decided to just enjoy this time with my brother. Ever since moving back, I hadn't seen him that much. I was busy with getting things in my apartment settled and he had been finishing up a big job with Dad at the office.

Once we were finished with dinner, Jasper insisted on leaving the resort to go to some club. I wasn't much of a dancer, but I figured he wanted to go so I would indulge him for once. When we got to the club, it was packed but Jasper somehow got us right in.

When I spotted Bella and Rosalie at one of the tables drinking, I suddenly realized why Jasper was so excited to bring me here. Jasper clapped me on the back and told me to go for it because you only lived once.

"That's the most cliche thing you've ever said to me," I rolled my eyes.

He shrugged. "Who the fuck cares. Go talk to the pretty girl who was obviously into you." He shoved me towards where they were sitting. Bella stood up and I gulped as I took in her appearance. Both of them were wearing extremely short and tight dresses. Bella looked incredible in her dark purple dress and her hair pulled back out of her face.

I could tell by the look on Bella's face that she wasn't expecting this. The dumb smile on my brother and Rosalie's face told me that they'd planned this and they weren't even trying to be smooth about it at all. Jasper took Rosalie over to the bar and left Bella and I alone.

After having a few drinks, we both started to loosen up a bit. I could tell she was drunk but not so drunk that I should feel bad about taking advantage of us. I was having a good time but I would have had a better time if our friends hadn't been staring at us all night long.

When Naughty Girl came on I almost lost my shit. Bella turned around and when she touched me I felt electricity coursing through my body.

"Fuck," I couldn't help myself anymore and I bent down to kiss her. As cliche as it sounded, I saw fireworks when my lips touched hers. It wasn't like any other kiss I'd ever had and I didn't care if that made me sound like a girl. When we finally pulled away from each other she asked if I wanted to leave with her.

I nodded and we made our way over to where Rosalie and Jasper were pretending not to watch us. Bella and Rosalie went to the bathroom and I told my brother I was going to go outside and get us an Uber.

"Don't say anything," I sighed as he followed me outside. "Just let us be."

He laughed. "I wasn't going to say anything, Edward. I was coming out here because I'm going to order myself and Rosalie an Uber and then go to bed."

"Go to bed?" I asked. I looked at my watch and it wasn't that late.

He shrugged. "Maybe I'll go for a swim. But this is Vegas and Alice isn't here and you're going to get laid."

"Which is what you wanted!"

"I know," He chuckled. "I turned and saw both Bella and Rosalie walking out of the club.

"Make sure Rosalie gets back to her room okay." He nodded as I reached out for Bella's hand. We got into the backseat of our Uber and the tension was unreal. I had never wanted to rip off someone's clothes as badly as I did at that moment, which really sucked because we weren't alone.

When we got to the resort, the elevator was full of people so I couldn't push her against the wall like I was planning on doing. The ride up had to be the longest ninety seconds of my life and when we reached our floor, I pulled her out and started kissing her again. We stumbled towards my door and I turned to fish my key out of my pocket and get the door open.

Then she reached her arms around me and gripped my cock.

I bucked my hips forward and cursed under my breath. It had been a while since I'd been with anyone and her hands already felt so good. I finally managed to get my door open and I turned around to kiss her again as I walked back into my room. She kicked the door shut and I pushed her up against it.

"Shit," She whispered as I started tugging at her dress's zipper. I kissed her lips and worked my way down to her neck. She had her arms wrapped around my neck and started pulling her dress down. I smiled at her as I pulled hard enough so that her dress pulled around her ankles. I stepped back a few inches and gulped.

She was fucking perfect. She wasn't wearing a bra and had on a teeny, tiny white thong. She'd gotten some sun this afternoon and her skin was practically glowing.

Apparently, I'd been staring for too long because she crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to cover herself.

"You," I smiled as I leaned down and kissed her. "Are gorgeous."

She smirked. "And you have too many clothes on," I raised my arms and she pulled my shirt over my head. She looked down and licked her lips. "You're so hot."

"Fuck," I whispered as I picked her up. She left her dress on the floor and wrapped her legs around my hips. I walked us over to my bed and threw her down on the bed. I hadn't meant to be so rough, but she seemed to like it so I decided to just go for it.

She sat up and grabbed my belt and started undoing it. She got my belt undone, unbuttoned my shorts and pulled the zipper down. She tugged my shorts down and I stepped back to take my shoes and shorts off. I leaned down and kissed her again, slowly laying her back down on the bed so I was on top of her.

She wrapped her legs around my hips again and used her feet to push my boxers down so I was completely naked. I yanked her thong down her legs and she smiled as I gawked at her again.

Fuck she was so perfect.

"Do you have a condom?" She whispered as I kissed her collar bone and rolled her nipples between my fingers. I nodded but didn't move to get them right away. She was incredible and I didn't want to rush this.

I took my time with her. I played with her nipples until she called out my name in pleasure. I kissed every inch of her body until she was writhing underneath me.

"Edward," She moaned as I sucked on one of her nipples.

"Hmm?" I asked without letting go and the vibration must have felt good because she bucked her hips.

She ran her hands through my messy hair. "Stop teasing me," She begged.

"What do you want?" I asked as I kissed her neck.

"Fuck," She moaned. "I want you to fuck me."

I groaned as I tore the foil wrapper open. She smirked as she took the condom from me and slowly pulled it down over my dick. Her hands felt so good and I couldn't wait to be inside of her. I grabbed both of her hands and pulled them over her head and held them there as I slowly entered.

"Shit," I moaned and she closed her eyes and threw her head back. She was so tight and so wet and I knew she was going to be the death of me. I let go of her arms and gripped her hips. I started pulling out of her slowly and then pushing in and we soon got into an incredible rhythm.

"Edward," She moaned as she bit her lip. I could tell she was close. My pelvis was coming into direct contact with her clit each time I slammed into her and she was practically screaming. "Fuck, I'm going to come."

I grunted as I slammed into her again. I used my thumb to rub her clit and then I felt her starting to contract around me. She screamed my name as she came and dug her nails into my shoulder. I pushed into her a few more times and then spilled into her.

I fell lifeless on top of her and we were both breathing heavily. After a few seconds, I pulled out of her and rolled off of her. I pulled the top sheet over us with shaky hands and sighed.

That was the best sex I'd ever had.

"Holy fuck," She whispered and I couldn't help but laugh. "That was...amazing."

I nodded in agreement, still unable to speak. I removed the condom and grabbed some tissues to clean myself up with. I handed her a few and then I heard my stomach growl. "I'm starving."

"Huh?" She questioned as she rolled onto her side and propped herself up onto her elbow. I turned my head and smiled at her.

"I haven't eaten since dinner and that was a great workout," I shrugged. "Wanna order room service?"

"Uh, okay," She nodded. "What are we going to order?"

I crawled out of bed and walked across the room to the menu. I brought it back and she sat up in bed, letting the sheet fall to her waist. I gulped and I saw her smirking. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"Wanna order a pizza?" I asked as she kissed my shoulder. She nodded as she turned my head and brought her lips to mine in a searing kiss. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down on top of her.

We went at it again before finally ordering the pizza. It felt like the pizza took forever to be delivered to my room, but we were in the middle of a fucking hot make-out session when it finally did arrive and I groaned as I slid out of bed and pulled on one of the soft hotel robes. I grabbed the food from the waiter, tipped him and then went back to bed with Bella.

I grabbed some napkins and set the pizza in the middle of the bed. We opened the box and each took a few slices. This was new territory for me. I was never one to just bring a random girl home with me so I didn't know what to talk about her. This was obviously just casual, so what was a casual conversation to have?

"When is Jasper getting married?" She asked as she started eating her second slice.

I could talk about my brother's wedding. "November ninth," I told her. "It's going to be a big shindig."

"How big?"

I thought back to the times we sat at the table with Alice and Jasper discussing the guest list. It had changed so many times I wasn't sure I had the right number. "I think they've settled on about four hundred."

She choked on her water. "Four hundred people for one wedding?" She asked. "How do they know that many people?"

"They were both very popular in college and Jasper has all of the people he works with and their families," I explained. "And Alice has a giant family. I think she has fifteen first cousins and then they all have kids."

"Wow," She smiled. "Are you the best man?"

I nodded. "Of course I am."

"Are you going to bring him to Vegas for his bachelor party?" I hadn't had the time to really think of his bachelor party. We wouldn't do it until October, but I should probably start thinking of ideas. "Let me guess you haven't thought of it yet."

"I've been busy," I shrugged. "It's not like they've been engaged for years. They got engaged at the end of my second year of law school."

"I'm not judging you," She sighed. "He'd probably love to come back here with all of his friends."

"Probably."

"Don't you want to come back?" She asked. "Or is this too much for a stick in the mud like you?"

"First of all, I am not a stick in the mud," I rolled my eyes but I couldn't help but smile. "Second of all, will you be here next time?"

"Why?"

"Because you've made this trip much more fun," I winked at her.

She blushed as she finished her pizza. "It wouldn't be much of a bachelor party if I was there, would it?"

I shrugged. "Jasper will be so drunk he wouldn't even know you were there."

"Well, I'll be in school..." She trailed off. "IU. Remember?"

"I remember," I assured her. I took one last bite and moved the box to the top of the dresser. She stretched and then stood up. I looked at her as she crossed the room, completely naked, and wondered what she was doing.

I just hoped she wasn't leaving.

"I feel nasty," She said as she turned her around to look at me. "I want a shower."

And then I understood. I scrambled out of bed and jogged over to her. I put my hands on her hips and kissed the back of her neck. "Need any help?"

It was unbelievable. The hot water cascading down her body. Pushing her up against the cool, tile wall. Fucking her senseless. When we were finished, we could both barely stand. When the water started to run cool, I turned it off and helped her wrap a towel around her. We walked back into the main room and I handed her one of my t-shirts.

I kind of wasn't sure what to do next. We were both exhausted and I wasn't sure we could handle another round. Did I ask if she wanted to watch a movie? Did we cuddle and fall asleep? This was new to me and by the look on her face, it was new to her too.

"You're welcome to stay," I said softly. She smiled at me and sat down on my bed. I bit my lip, trying not to make this awkward. "We could raid the mini fridge."

"That'll cost an arm and a leg," She giggled.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Jasper's paying for the room. Trust me, he can afford a few sodas and some snacks."

"What's available?" She asked as she got off of the bed and walked to the mini fridge. We each chose and drink and a snack and laid down in my bed. When we were finished eating, she laid her head on my shoulder as I turned on the TV. It didn't take long for me to hear her breathing slow down and when I looked over, she was already sleeping.

I couldn't blame her. I hadn't had that much of a workout in a long time and I followed soon after her.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of a soft rustling. When I opened my eyes, Bella was pulling on her discarded panties from the night before and then she pulled on her dress.

"Morning," I smiled.

She looked over and sheepishly smiled at me. "Sorry, I didn't want to wake you."

"It's okay."

"I have to go," She whispered. "Rosalie's parents will expect me at breakfast. It's one of the only times during the day we see them," She looked at the nightstand. "I wrote you a note. I wasn't going to just bail on you."

She was really sweet. "I believe you."

"Will you be at the pool today?" She asked and I figured I could convince Jasper to head down there later this afternoon.

"I'll bring Jasper down so he and Rosalie can talk about us and how great they are at setting us up with other people."

"Perfect. Rose would want nothing more," She smiled. She grabbed her phone and her room key and walked towards the door. "I'll see you later."

"Bye!" I called as the door shut. Again, I wasn't sure if I should have kissed her goodbye, but I wasn't going to worry about it. I doubted that last night would be the last time I was with her and I was kind of wishing we had more time in Vegas.

But, duty called and I needed some time at home relaxing before I started my new job.

I fell back asleep for another hour before getting up and taking a real shower. By the time I was dressed, I was running late to meet Jasper. I knew he was going to be expecting me to give him details, but I just didn't want to. Bella wasn't some random slut and I wasn't going to talk about her like that.

Jasper was grinning when I got to him at breakfast.

"So?" He asked eagerly before I'd even had a sip of coffee.

I rolled my eyes. "What?"

"You know what, Eddie."

"Don't call me that," I sighed. He did it to annoy me and it always annoyed me.

"How was it?"

I shrugged. "It was great."

"Best sex you've ever had?"

"Jesus, don't you have any kind of filter?" I asked and he shook his head. I swear, Jasper may have been older but he definitely wasn't more mature or wiser. I knew he wouldn't shut up until I gave him some kind of detail so I thought of a respectable way to talk about Bella. "Yes, okay. It was probably the best sex I've ever had."

He grinned. "I had a feeling."

"Ew, Jazz, don't be a perv."

"Lighten up. I'm kidding," I wasn't sure he was telling me the truth. "I just saw the way you two were dancing with each other and you seemed really into her."

"She's a nice girl," I shrugged. "We did more than fuck, you know."

"Oh?"

I sighed. "We talked about your and Alice."

"Why?"

"She was asking about the wedding," I told him. "We didn't talk about you during sex."

"Good. That'd be weird," He chuckled. "Are you going to see her again?"

I shrugged. "Probably. I told her we'd see them at the pool today."

"Good, because I told Rosalie we'd be by."

"You should just ask Rosalie to be your sister," I rolled my eyes. "You're more alike than we are."

"It doesn't work that way, little brother," His face suddenly turned serious. "Are you starting to feel better about your new job?"

"I'm fine, Jasper."

"Edward," He said. "You're nervous as hell, and that's okay. I just want you to remember that this job doesn't define you or your ability as a lawyer."

"I know that."

He shook his head. "I don't think you do. Use this trip as a way to de-stress."

"I know why you dragged me here."

"And don't feel bad about sleeping with someone you're never going to see again," He said. "It's okay to let go and have fun and have great sex."

"Thank you, Mr. Miyagi."

"You think of me as your sex Mr. Miyagi?"

I sighed. "You're ridiculous."

After breakfast, Jasper and I got changed to go down to the pool. The girls were already laying down on their beach towels and I smiled when I saw Bella reading a different book today. We went over and Rosalie smirked at me before going back to the magazine she was reading.

I wondered what Bella had told her.

"Afternoon, ladies," Jasper greeted as he sat down on the chair next to Rosalie. Their strange friendship proved to me that my big brother could make friends with literally anyone.

"Hi, Jasper," Bella smiled as she put her book down. I sat down and she looked at me and winked.

Yep. She'd told Rosalie everything.


	3. I've Got a Little Secret Too

**Chapter Three: I've Got a Little Secret Too**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"I had a really great time this weekend," I said as Jasper put their luggage in a cab Tuesday morning.

He smiled at me. "Me too."

Now I really didn't know what to do. Edward and I had spent the weekend having the most mind-blowing sex and now he was heading home. I knew from the day I met him this was never going to be a long-term thing, but it still kinda sucked. We'd talked in between rounds and I'd gotten to know him pretty well.

We weren't best friends, but we could be friends if we lived close to each other.

And if I were actually twenty-one years old.

"If we're ever in Vegas at the same time, I'll call you," He winked.

I laughed. "Jasper's bachelor party is in October right?"

He nodded. "You should bring Rosalie so Jasper can have his new BFF with him."

"I heard that!" He called from the cab.

"You were meant to!" Edward said as he turned to me. "Take care, Bella," He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. He was such a fucking good kisser, I didn't want that to end either.

"Bye," I sighed when he pulled back and opened the cab door. I watched as the cab drove off and turned to Rosalie who was standing with her arms crossed around her chest.

"Cheer up, kid. All hot vacation sex must come to an end."

I rolled my eyes. "I knew it wasn't going to last past today, but it still stinks."

"Come on," She smiled as she wrapped her arms around my shoulder. "I'll buy you a mimosa."

"A strong one."

Rosalie laughed. "Yes. A strong one."

I stayed in my funk for most of the morning. Edward was just fun to talk to while Rosalie listened to her music and tanned by the pool. Don't get me wrong, vacation with Rosalie was amazing and I loved being here with my best friend. But it was still weird without having him around.

After my third mimosa, however, I was feeling a lot better and I promised Rosalie I wouldn't stay in this funk for the rest of the vacation. We came here so I could get over Liam, not get hung up over another guy. It was kind of nice having Rosalie all to myself again and we had a lot of fun making the guys around the pool drool.

It was a sad day when we had to pack up our things and leave our beautiful hotel. Seven days just didn't seem long enough for a vacation, but reality was waiting for us when we got home. School was starting at the end of August and Mr. Hale had to get back to work with my dad.

Plus, the annual charity ball our dad's along with a few other rich men in the community was coming up quickly and final planning needed to happen.

My parents and Rosalie's parents came from "old money". They were always going to be wealthy and successful because of their parent's connections. However, life was never very easy for my parents. They'd had several miscarriages and a stillbirth before finally having me. It destroyed my mother and almost dissolved their marriage. When I finally came along, they called me their miracle baby.

My mom said when she looked at me for the first time she was overcome with an immense amount of joy and grief all at once. She grieved for the babies she'd lost and knew how fortunate she was. There were couple's who might never get that moment with their baby so she told my dad she wanted to do something to help.

He didn't know what they could do, but mom did her research while she took care of me. She found numerous nonprofits that helped mother's who had lost babies, single mothers, and couples who wanted to adopt but couldn't afford it.

Right before I turned one, they held their annual charity event. It wasn't as big and fancy as it was back then, but they always raised a lot of money and donated almost every penny to the different organization's mom found seventeen years ago.

This year the event fell on my eighteenth birthday and mom said that was a sign from God that they were doing the right things. Their miracle baby would spend her eighteenth birthday helping to raise money for people who didn't get their miracle baby.

Mom said it was like coming full circle.

Rosalie called it poor planning because the ball didn't have to happen on the third Saturday of September.

I didn't mind it though. I wasn't a huge birthday party person, but Rose always threw a killer party for me. I always let her do it because she loved the planning and showering me but it just wasn't for me. Since the ball was on my birthday, I told her to not bother with a giant party. We would celebrate with a cake at the ball and then have a small gathering at my house the next day.

And it was really important to my mom that my birthday was the day of the ball and I didn't really mind.

As long as I got cake, I was happy.

My parents were waiting for us at baggage claim and I was really excited to see them. My parents and I had always been close so, even though I'd spent a lot of time away from them before, I was always really excited when I got to see them. We grabbed our luggage and then we all went out to eat.

After eating and drinking a lot of junk for a week, I was really happy to be eating normally again.

When we got home, my parents were eagerly waiting to hear about my trip. I obviously left out the parts about Edward, but as I started talking about Vegas I started to kind of miss him. It wasn't like we were ever going to be anything but friends with benefits, but I still wished a little bit that I could see him again.

* * *

Two weeks later I found myself getting ready for my first day of senior year. I had been so excited for this moment, but somehow Liam managed to taint it. I was over him. Did it still suck the way he just walked away? Yeah, it did. But I was good. I was ready to just be single and go on dates with some of the boys in my grade I knew liked me. I was excited to flirt with guys at parties like Rosalie did.

And then Lauren informed me she saw Charlotte hanging all over Liam at a party the weekend after we'd gotten home from Vegas. Liam had always had a thing for Charlotte, but every guy in our grade did. She was gorgeous and she had the body of a supermodel. She made Rosalie look frumpy and Rose was the most beautiful girl I knew. I always thought it was just an attraction and I trusted him so I was okay with that.

But now he was dating her and I didn't want to be anywhere near either of them.

I couldn't avoid them forever, though, and Rosalie told me he wasn't worth it.

"Bella!" Mom called up the stairs. "You're going to be late if you don't come down to eat."

"Coming!" I said as I grabbed my backpack and ran down the steps. I said good morning to our housekeeper, Carmen, as she handed me a plate of eggs and bacon and a cup of orange juice. I sat down next to my father, who was reading the paper, and leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled and set the paper down. "Good morning, sweetie."

"Morning, daddy," I smiled as I dug in. I scarfed down my breakfast and I was putting my dishes in the sink, Rosalie was walking in our back door. Mom went over and hugged her and asked if she ate breakfast.

Rosalie's parents loved her and would do anything for them, but my mom was more of a mom than Margret was. Margret was more of a friend to Rosalie, which was great and it worked for them, but my mom took on the _mom_ role for her. It was the same with Richard and my dad.

Rose laughed. "Yes, Renee. I had some cereal and some fruit and some yogurt."

"Is that enough?"

She shrugged. "I'm not a big breakfast person. But, Eliza packed me a good, healthy lunch."

I gave my dad another kiss on the cheek, hugged my mom and headed out of the house with Rosalie. Once we were halfway to school, Rosalie started to snicker.

"What?"

"Your mom was about to cry," She laughed and I rolled my eyes.

I shrugged. "It's a big deal for them, Rose."

"I know," She smiled, knowing exactly why my mom would be crying on the first day of senior year. "She should just do what my mom does when she's emotional."

"Drink a bottle of tequila?"

She stuck her tongue out at me. " _No_. Online shopping."

"Believe me. I bet she's already bought me new school clothes and more accessories for the charity ball next month."

When we got to school, Liam's car was already there and Charlotte's wasn't. I made it my goal to not let them get to me, but it was hard to do when they were making out against their lockers when we walked into the senior hallway.

"Ignore them," Rose whispered as we walked to our lockers. As we were getting things out of our bags to put them into our lockers, Paul walked up to us.

"Hi, Bella," He smiled his famous smile. Paul was the _it_ boy at our school. He was cute, smart, athletic, and a genuinely nice guy. Every girl wanted to date him, even Rosalie had a crush on him for a while. And Rosalie was a free bird who refused to let a guy "tie her down" so young. Whatever that meant.

I turned and smiled at him. "Hey. How was your summer?"

"Pretty boring," He sighed as I closed my locker. Since our last names were so close together alphabetically, we headed to our homeroom together. Paul and I had always been good friends since we were in all of the honors classes together. He was a nice guy and Liam was never threatened by him. It sucked that I didn't see him much over the summer since he spent most of it in New York with his dad after his parents split up at the beginning of junior year.

"New York not that fun?" I asked.

He frowned. "Dad was always doing business and New York isn't fun if you're alone all the time."

"That makes sense."

"How about you?" He asked as Liam walked into homeroom. He looked over at me and quickly looked away to avoid me at all costs. Paul coughed awkwardly. "I heard you two broke up."

"Yep. He dumped me for Charlotte."

Paul rolled his eyes. "What an idiot."

"You think?"

He looked around and leaned in closer to me. "Charlotte is all boobs and nothing else."

"Isn't that what everyone wants?" I whispered.

"Liam's a smart guy. He needs to be able to have a conversation with someone," He said. "With Charlotte, he's only getting the physical stuff."

"I'm still thinking that's what he wants."

Paul smiled. "With you...he had the full package."

I could feel myself starting to blush. "Paul, are you flirting with me?"

"Maybe," He smirked as he pulled away. I turned to see Liam staring at us but he looked away quickly to avoid my gaze.

After homeroom ended, Paul walked with me to our first class. Rosalie was outside of the room waiting for us and she smirked at me as we sat down next to each other. Paul chose to sit behind me and I knew she was going to bombard me with questions at lunch when we were alone.

And that's exactly what she did. When we got to lunch, Paul went to sit with his soccer buddies and Rosalie and I sat down with our friends. She stared at me until I felt uncomfortable and then I finally looked up and met her gaze.

"What?"

She smiled. "You and Paul, huh?"

"You and Paul are a thing now?" Jessica stuck her nose where it didn't belong. Jessica moved her at the beginning of our freshman year and Rosalie was in charge of showing her around since they were in almost every class together. Jessica stuck to her like glue after that and she'd been around ever since. She was a nice girl, but she was a huge gossip who couldn't keep her mouth shut to save her life.

We didn't tell her much when it came to things that actually mattered.

"No, we're not a thing," I said making it perfectly clear that there was no gossip to spread. Jessica slumped back in her seat and turned to see what Lauren and Anglea were talking about since we'd obviously bored her.

"You looked pretty cozy together during first period," SHe said. "And second and third period."

I shrugged. "We're friends, Rose. We always have been."

"But you've always been with Liam," Rosalie pointed out. "He likes you. I can tell."

"You think everyone likes me."

"Because it's true!" She laughed loudly.

I sighed. "Okay, I'll admit, if he asks me out on a date I would absolutely say yes. Do I think we're going to be boyfriend and girlfriend and go to college together and get married? No. Would he be a nice guy to date...yes. Of course, he would and I'd be dumb to try and deny that."

"You should ask him to be your date to the charity ball," Rosalie suggested.

I looked over at him laughing with his friends and smiled. Liam had always been allowed to come so I assumed my parents wouldn't mind if I brought Paul with me. Plus, his parents were always invited anyway and they were usually there. Our parents didn't want it to be crawling with teens so normally children weren't invited but our parents always let us have a few friends there.

Paul never made the cut for some reason, which was probably pretty dumb.

"You think?"

She rolled her eyes. "He likes you, Bella. Whether you can see it or not...he does. Ask him out. Be a strong, independent woman of 2019."

I laughed. "Okay. Maybe I'll ask him tomorrow during homeroom so I don't make a show of it by going over there now."

When I got home from school later that day, my mom was sitting with Carmen in the kitchen and they looked like they were planning something. I hung my bookbag on the back of my chair, grabbed an apple, and sat down with them. I looked at the pad in front of them and saw they were coming up with some kind of menu.

"What are you two doing?" I asked.

Mom looked up and smiled at me. "We're planning a menu for Friday night."

"What's special about Friday?" I asked.

"We're having your father's new associate over for dinner," She told me. "He's new in town and doesn't know many people. Your father said he told him that he mainly eats out or premade meals."

To my mother, that was an abomination.

"Oh," I sighed. "Do I have to be there?"

Mom nodded. "Yes. You know we like you to know the people your father works with."

"Will the Hale's be there?"

"No, they have dinner with an old family friend." Rose didn't tell me that. "And Rosalie has a date so she won't be joining us either."

"She's so full of shit," I mumbled under my breath. She didn't have a date, at least not yet. But she'd probably find one before Friday so she wasn't technically lying. I hated when my parents made me sit through some boring business dinner. Knowing my dad, he'd hired some middle-aged man who was losing his hair with no personality. Somehow my dad always ended up hiring really dull people and that was probably the case for this new guy too.

And to make matters worse, I wasn't going to get to ask Paul out for Friday like I'd wanted to.

After I finished my snack, I went upstairs to start my reading for the week. Nothing was really due yet, but I always liked working ahead so I could enjoy my weekends. As I was reading the first chapter for APUSH, I stared at my phone, contemplating texting Edward. I knew he was living in Illinois, but he never told me where exactly.

I wondered if he'd be willing to meet up for another round.

But then I started thinking about Paul and how he was probably a better fit for me. He was my age, he did seem to like me, and he was the easier choice. Plus, I kind of liked the idea of Edward being this really cool part of vacation. I didn't want to mess with those memories by making things messy and start seeing him randomly throughout the year.

I ended up putting my phone under my pillow so it wouldn't distract me from my work.

* * *

The next morning when I picked Rosalie up for school, I glared at her.

"What?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at me. "Why do you look like I murdered your dog?"

"You have a date Friday night?" I asked and she bit her lip nervously. She should be nervous. She always ditched me when it came to business dinners with our parents.

She shrugged. "My parents won't even be there."

"But you know they're making me go and it would be nice to not be totally alone."

"Sorry. I have a date."

"You do not," I sighed as I pulled out of her driveway.

She smirked. "Not yet. I bet you by the end of tomorrow I'll have a date."

"I already know that's going to happen, so we don't need to make a bet," I mumbled. "You could decline, you know."

"But then I'd have to go to that boring business dinner."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed and she started laughing. "What?"

"Your voice gets really squeaky when you're annoyed."

"I hate you."

"You love me," She winked at me.

When we got to school, Paul met me at my locker again. I could see Rosalie watching us from her locker and I tried to put him in front of me so she couldn't read my lips.

She was freakishly good at reading lips so I hardly had any secrets from her.

"So," He sighed as I slammed my locker shut and we walked to homeroom. "I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me on Friday night?"

Bingo.

I sighed and wondered if I could get out of dinner if I had a date. Knowing my parents, they would just tell me to reschedule it because I had a duty or something.

"I have to do dinner with my parents and someone new to my dads firm Friday,"

"Oh," His head hung.

I bit my lip. "But, if you're free Saturday..."

He smiled. "Saturday's perfect."

I hadn't felt this good since Vegas.

I looked over and saw Liam with Charlotte, but he was looking at us. I smiled and waved at him and that turned him away. I knew this would probably hurt him. Paul and him weren't best friends, but they were friends. They hung out in the same crowd all the time and this was technically breaking the bro code.

Whatever.

Paul was good for me and I wasn't going to let my stupid ex-boyfriend ruin that for me.

Paul and I hung out together after school for the rest of the week. It was fun getting to know him in a more personal way. We'd always been friends, but we'd never shared anything deep with each other. We never had the chance to connect in that way. He told me about the day his dad said he was leaving and how hard that really was on him. I got to tell him that being my parent's miracle baby was exhausting most of the time.

When I got home from school on Friday, my dress for dinner was laid out on my bed. I rolled my eyes because I was seventeen years old and knew how to pick out an appropriate outfit. But, I knew my mom wanted me to wear the black, lace dress with short sleeves and the nude pumps. Thankfully, she didn't leave any accessories for me so I got to pick those out.

Just as I was finishing putting my hair into a bun, I heard the doorbell ring. I finished my hair, put on some nude lipstick and headed out of my room. My dad's new associate was already leat inside and I heard talking to Carmen and my parents.

"Our daughter, Bella, will be down shortly," Mom said as I got to the top of the staircase.

"Bella?" A really familiar voice asked and I stopped in my tracks.

"Yes, she's a senior this year."

"In...college?" That voice was way too familiar and I thought I was going to puke.

Mom laughed. "No, in high school." Mom looked up and saw me just standing at the top of the steps. I couldn't see him yet and he couldn't see me either. This was my chance to run, but then my parents would know something was wrong. "Bella, come and say hello."

I walked down the stairs and met his gaze.

Edward.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:** Hi everyone! I just want everyone to know that this definitely a Bella/Edward story. I just wanted to throw Paul in there to show that she thought that Edward was just a Vegas fling and she's just trying to live a _normal _life as a high school senior._

 _Thanks for reading!_


	4. Burned So Bright We Burned Out

**Chapter Four: B** **urned So Bright We Burned Out**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

I had one hour to get home, get cleaned up, change my clothes, and make it across town for dinner at Charlie's house. Tuesday morning he told me he'd told his wife about my eating habits and how she insisted that I come over for dinner. I was sure if it was appropriate to have dinner at their house without any business to go over, but then he told me she'd never stop asking.

So I graciously accepted the offer and he told me to be at their house at seven o'clock sharp.

Which is why it was such a bad idea to stay late and keep working.

Mom thought I was working myself to death. I'd been at the firm for almost a month and I hadn't gotten home earlier than eight in the evening the entire month. There was just so much to do and I was the underdog at the firm. Everyone else had at least ten years of experience and I was fresh out of law school. I had to prove to everyone that I wasn't some dumb kid and that I deserved this job.

I left the office as soon as I could, but I was still there for an hour and a half after Charlie and Richard left.

When I got home, I washed my face, changed my clothes, and grabbed the dessert my mother made for me to bring to dinner. I told her she didn't have to but she said there was no way in hell I was bringing something store-bought to my boss' house for dinner.

I made my way across town and gawked at the huge house as I pulled into the driveway. My dad was a wealthy businessman, but he and my mother chose to raise Jasper and me modestly. Our house wasn't small or cheap, but it looked that way compared to Charlie's house.

"Wow," I whispered as I made my way up the cobblestone pathway. I rang the door and was greeted by a younger Hispanic woman.

"Hello, Mr. Cullen," She greeted. "Can I take that?"

I looked down at the container I was holding. "Sure," I handed it to her and she shut the front door behind her. She made her way to the kitchen as Charlie and his wife came into the living room.

"Edward!" Charlie beamed. "It's so nice to see you."

"You too, sir," I smiled as he turned to the woman.

"This is my wife, Renee," He beamed as she extended her arm.

She smiled brightly at me. "It's so nice to meet you."

"You too, Mrs. Swan."

"Please, call me Renee."

I bit my lip and nodded. "Okay."

"Our daughter, Bella, will be down shortly," Renee told me.

My breath caught. "Bella?" I asked. Surely it wasn't the Bella I'd been with back in Vegas. It was a popular name. I was sure of it.

"Yes, she's a senior this year."

My hands were beginning to sweat. Bella did say she was twenty-one years old so that would make sense. It just wouldn't be the best start to a new career to explain to my boss that I'd fucked his daughter's brains out for three days while we were on vacation.

But for some reason, I had a bad feeling about everything.

"In...college?"

"No, in high school," Renee laughed as she looked up the staircase. I could see someone standing there but I couldn't see her face yet. "Bella, come say and hello."

I met her gaze with wide eyes as she came into view.

Wait...she was a senior in high school? That meant she couldn't be any older than seventeen.

Holy shit.

I'd broken the law. I'd slept with a minor and although it was consensual, the cops wouldn't see it that way. I was going to be fired and sent to prison. I was starting to stay calm, but I felt my heartbeat starting to quicken and my legs felt like jello.

What the fuck was I going to do?

I was going to have to quit and find a new job in a new state. I couldn't stay working with Charlie after having sex with his teenaged daughter. I was going to have to tell m parents I had to quit because of what happened in Vegas.

And as I stared at her, I started feeling really angry with her. She'd lied about her age that day. If she had been honest then none of this would be happening and I wouldn't be at risk of losing everything.

"Bella, this is Edward," Charlie spoke up. Had it really only been a few seconds? It felt like I'd been standing here for ten minutes at least. "He just graduated from Penn State last May and started working for us just before you started school."

"High school," I said under my breath and hoped no one heard me.

She bit her lip. "It's nice to meet you."

I nodded. "You too," My voice was so high and squeaky her parents were going to know something was wrong. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Of course," Renee nodded. "Our bathroom down here is currently being remodeled, but there is one upstairs to the left."

"Thanks," I said and bolted up the steps. When I got to the bathroom, I contemplated throwing up but that wasn't going to solve anything. I splashed some cold water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. I felt dirty. She was so young and I'd taken advantage of her.

Granted, it wouldn't have happened if she didn't lie to me about how old she was.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and I jumped out of my skin thinking it was Charlie.

"Just a second," I called as I flushed the toilet and turned on the sink.

"It's me," A soft voice said from the other side of the door. I didn't want to see her, but we probably did have to talk quickly before going back down to her parents. I unlocked the door and let her in. She shut the door behind her and I stood as far away from her as I could.

"What are you doing?" She asked as I backed myself into the wall.

I sighed. "Getting as far away from you as I can."

"Edward..."

"How old are you?" I asked.

She took a deep breath. "Seventeen."

"Seventeen?" I asked. Fuck, I was going to prison. "Do you know what your little lie has done?"

"Edward..."

"I'm twenty-six!" I whisper-yelled. "Bella, sleeping with you was illegal. Forget about the fact that you're my boss' daughter. You're too young for me."

"I'll be eighteen in a month," She shrugged like that mattered.

"But you were seventeen in Vegas," I ran my hand through my hair. "I'm going to get fired and arrested."

"Not if you keep your mouth shut," She rolled her eyes like I was being overdramatic or something.

Like a teenager.

I shook my head. "How did you even get alcohol and into that club? You were drinking all weekend with Rosalie."

"Fake IDs." I took a deep breath. I had no idea what to do. "The age of consent here is seventeen."

I stared at her. "What?"

"The age a person can consent to have sex is seventeen years old," she said. "Unless you're in a position of power over me and you're not."

I shook my head. "This is so fucked up."

"We gotta go back downstairs or my parents are going to think something is up," she sighed as she opened the door and left. I waited for a few seconds before going back downstairs and I found the three of them sitting in the living room with their housekeeper handing them drinks.

"Would you like a drink, Edward?" Renee asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Whiskey would be great."

"I'll get that for you, sir," Carmen smiled as she walked back into the kitchen. Renee and Charlie were sitting together on the loveseat and Bella was on the couch. If I sat on the couch with her, I didn't want it to look like I was trying to keep her away so I decided to sit in the fluffy armchair.

Carmen brought me my drink and I chugged it in a few seconds and Charlie and Renee stared at me. "Sorry. It's just been a..." I looked over at Bella. "Crazy few weeks."

"Starting a new job is always stressful," Renee smiled. "When Charlie got his first job at a law firm, I hardly ever saw him. You'll figure out a balance."

"You're doing a fine job," Charlie smiled and despite the circumstances of this night, I couldn't help but breathe easy. Even if I fucked his daughter, I was doing a good job at being a lawyer.

I'd be lucky if I could say that for much longer when he found out what I'd done to his teenage daughter.

"Even Bella had a difficult time adjusting to high school a few years ago," I wished people would stop talking about Bella and high school. "She was struggling with all of the work she had to do in her honors classes. I think Liam helped a lot."

"Mom," She looked at me and then at Renee.

Renee shrugged. "All I'm saying is he helped calm you down. Liam is Bella's ex-boyfriend. They broke up about...two months ago."

"Mom, I'm sure Edward doesn't care about my love life," Bella said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, Bella. We're not showing him your baby pictures," She smiled. "Unless you'd like to see those?"

"No!" Bella and I said at the same time.

And when I thought of seeing her baby pictures, I thought about how I was nine when she was a baby and I felt sick.

"Ma'am," Carmen said as she came into the living room. "Dinner is ready."

"Thank you so much, Carmen," Charlie said as he and Renee stood up. They walked into the kitchen together and Bella hurried behind them. When I got into the kitchen, the only place left to sit was right next to Bella.

If being at dinner was this difficult because of what we'd done, I was going to have to resign and find a new job. I couldn't keep this up and it hadn't even been an hour yet. I worked so fucking hard all through school and this one seventeen-year-old was going to ruin it for me.

She had to be reading Jane Eyre at the pool that day and Jasper just couldn't keep his big mouth shut. Rosalie and Jasper had to become partners in crime to hook Bella and me up.

Jasper had to drag me to Vegas.

Dinner was awkward as hell. I didn't know what to say because I was so disoriented and frustrated and frazzled I couldn't think of conversations. Plus, it didn't help that I was still incredibly attracted to Bella and all I could think about what I did to her in bed.

And the shower.

And up against the hotel room door.

And on the bathroom sink.

"Do you have siblings, Edward?" Renee asked as Bella helped clear the table for dessert.

I stared at her as she smiled at Carmen. She was so beautiful and I fucking hated that she was only seventeen. I looked back at Renee and smiled. "I have an older brother, Jasper."

"What does he do?"

I bit my lip as I looked at Bella. "He works with my dad at the family business."

"And you didn't want to work there?" Charlie asked.

"No, sir. I love my dad and he's done a really great job building his company, but I wanted to do my own thing," I explained. "My parents have always been supportive, though, so, me choosing to be a lawyer was never an issue."

"Charlie's dad was a lawyer, but didn't hire Charlie until he'd been working at another firm for a few years," Renee explained as I continued to be a creep and stare at their daughter. "He said that Charlie needed to learn a thing or two before he could work for him."

Charlie smiled at his wife. "When he stepped down, I took over and brought Richard along with me."

I nodded as Bella turned and caught me staring. "Do you have any more children?"

"No, Bella's our only child," Renee said. "We call her our miracle baby."

"Mom," Bella sighed again. The way she was acting now was so different than when we were in Vegas. She really seemed like a young adult when we were together. Now she was acting like a normal teenager. It was such a contrast and one of the ways she was able to get me into bed.

Well...if I was being honest, we both got each other into bed.

After we ate dessert, I told them I needed to be getting home because I had an early morning planned with Jasper. That was a lie. Jasper and Alice were doing wedding stuff tomorrow and Alice said it would take most of the day. I just needed to get out of there before I ended up spilling the beans and getting the cops called on me.

Renee made me promise to come back for dinner soon and after a hug, I practically ran out of the house. Just as I was opening my car door, I heard the front door open and close again.

"Edward!" I heard her say as she ran down the path in her heals.

"Fuck," I mumbled as I slammed the door shut and turned to face her. "What, Bella?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For lying about my age," She shrugged. "Believe it or not I didn't want this to happen. I wasn't plotting against you."

"But you shouldn't have lied at all," I said. "If this gets out..."

"I'm above the age of consent..."

"But you're still seventeen!" I groaned. "You're not an adult, Bella. No matter how much you want to be an adult, you aren't."

She sighed. "I'll be eighteen in a month."

"That means nothing."

"I'm still sorry," She whispered. "Vegas was just supposed to be a time to blow off some steam and to get over my ex. Rose got us the fake IDs and...she's the one who said I was twenty-one."

"And you went along with it."

She dropped her head and looked at the ground. "I know. That's not an excuse...I'm not going to tell my dad anything."

"What about Rosalie?"

She shrugged. "Rosalie would die for me. She's not going to rat us out."

"You're sure?"

"If my parents found out that I'd gotten a fake ID and drank alcohol all week and slept with you...I'd be grounded until they died," There was a hint of a smile. "Rose would never let that happen. Plus then our parents would fight because her parents weren't watching us and it would be a bigger shit storm than you can imagine."

I stared at her and wondered if I could even trust her. She'd lied to me before so I knew she was capable.

"I'm really not going to say anything. And neither will Rose."

I nodded, choosing to trust her despite my better judgment. "I believe you," I took a deep breath. "And I accept your apology."

She smiled and then went back inside. I hoped that even though I worked for her dad we could somehow avoid each other for the most part and we could just...forget about everything. Vegas was amazing but now when I thought about it...I felt like a perv and I almost wished it hadn't happened.

But then I thought I was being overdramatic. Sure this whole thing was a giant mess and I was a lot older than her, but it's not like she was fourteen. She is almost eighteen years old if I didn't work for her dad and I found that out, I wasn't sure I'd be so bothered by it.

Before I even had time to think, I was pulling into Jasper's driveway. I got out and went to knock on the door. I figured Alice would be in bed already since she was more of a morning person and I was surprised when she opened the door. She looked surprised to see me, but she knew me pretty well to know when something was wrong.

"Hey," She smiled and hugged me tightly. From the moment Jasper brought her home, Alice had always felt like a sister to me and a hug from her was just what I needed to feel myself calming down. "Jasper's in the kitchen.

I walked in the house and into the kitchen where Jasper was finishing the dishes. He was drying his hands when he looked up and raised an eyebrow at me.

I sighed. "I need to talk to you."

"Did you kill someone?"

"What?" I asked. "No. Why?"

"You look like you did something really bad," He shrugged. "Like you look like you're going to puke and you look confused and guilty."

I closed my eyes. "Remember Bella?"

"Of course," He smirked and it just weirded me out now when he did that.

"Ew, don't smile like that."

"Ew?" He asked. "Ed, you fucked her brains out a few weeks ago and I can't smirk at you now?"

"She's seventeen."

The color seemed to drain from his face and he stopped smiling. "Excuse me?"

"They lied about their age," I explained. "They're seventeen and seniors in high school."

"Whoa," He leaned up against the counter. "Wait, how'd you find this out."

I started to laugh because everything was just so ridiculous. "Her dad...is my boss."

"You can't be serious?" He grimaced. "You're...serious?"

"Yeah."

"Her dad...is your new boss at your new job."

"Correct."

"And Bella...is his seventeen-year-old daughter."

I nodded.

"And you spent three days...having sex with her?"

"I'm the worst human on the planet," I groaned.

He sighed as he walked over to me. "No, you're not."

"I feel dirty."

"Edward, she's not that much younger than twenty-one," He said. "And what if she turned eighteen in June? She would have still been lying to you but she would have been an adult."

"She's so young."

He rolled his eyes. "Do you think you're being overdramatic?"

"I could lose my job, Jasper. And I could potentially go to jail and lose my license."

He nodded like he understood. "This is serious."

"Yeah. It is," I told him. "And maybe if she was eighteen when we had sex things would be different, but she wasn't. And she lied to me and totally deceived me. And Rosalie did too."

"You can't change the past, Edward," Alice said softly as she walked into the kitchen. "What happened is done and all you can really do now is try and move past it."

"I'm nervous around her dad now," I told them. "All I can think about is how I have to keep my mouth shut about Bella which is making me think I'm going to blow it at any second."

Neither of them said something for a few seconds. "Just do your best to act normal."

"That's not very helpful."

"It's not a great situation," Jasper reminded me. "But, you can't let this ruin your career before it even takes off."

I nodded. "You're right."

"Do you want to stay here tonight to try and clear your head?" Alice asked.

"Don't you have wedding stuff to do tomorrow?"

She smiled. "You can come with us."

"Or you can chill here until we're done," Jasper laughed. "We should be done by the early afternoon."

I agreed to stay over because I was suddenly so tired I wasn't sure I'd get home safely. Jasper brought me some sweats and an old t-shirt and Alice brought me things I would need to shower in the morning. I said goodnight to my brother and Alice and went straight to bed.

 _"Morning," She cooed as she wrapped her arms around my waist from behind. She kissed my naked shoulder, making me shudder. This girl was going to kill me because all I wanted to do when she was around was lay her down on whatever furniture was available and fuck her senseless._

 _"Hey," I smiled as I turned around and slid my hands onto her ass. I turned us around and pushed her up against the counter and leaned down to kiss her. She tangled her hands in my hair as I picked her up and sat her down on the vanity and kissed down her chin down to her neck._

 _"Hmmm," She hummed. "That feels good." I continued to kiss her as she opened the drawer and pulled out a condom. We were doing it all over this hotel room that we just started keeping condoms everywhere so we were prepared._

 _I felt like a man whore._

 _She tore the foil open and covered my dick with the latex barrier. I pulled her ass forward so she was just barely sitting on the counter and lined myself up at her entrance. She let her head fall back and bit her lip as I pushed into her._

 _Fuck, she felt so good all the time._

 _"Yes!" She screeched as I pulled almost all the way out and pushed in again. "Edward," She moaned as I cupped her breast with my hand and rolled her nipple through my fingers._

 _"Fuck," I whispered as I already felt her clenching around me. We were doing it so much that it never took either of us very long to climax._

 _"I'm going to co..." She didn't even finish her sentence before we both came at the same time. She went limp underneath me and I braced my arms on the counter so I would crush her. After a few seconds, I pulled out of her and got rid of the condom in the trash._

 _"The maids probably think I'm some kind of freak who brings home a random girl every night," I smiled as we got in the shower together._

 _She shrugged and smiled at me. "I'm the only slut you get to have."_

I woke up with a jolt. The dream was so vivid and accurate that I was as hard as a rock and I felt...gross again. Those memories weren't the same. I got out of bed and went to take a cold shower even though it was only three in the morning. There was no way I was going to take care of myself with her in my head.

That idea made me feel gross too.

I realized that no matter how hard I tried to just ignore it and go back to work...working with Charlie and Richard was going to be difficult. I hoped that with time I would stop feeling like a perv who fucked a seventeen-year-old, but it was going to take some time.

I was so fucked.


	5. Toyin' With Them Older Guys

**Chapter Five: Toyin' With Them Older Guys**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"I believe you," He whispered. "And I accept your apology."

I could tell he wasn't interested in talking to me and I didn't blame him. I'd really messed up by lying to him about my age. How was I supposed to know he was the new guy my dad hired? That didn't matter, though. I lied and now he was dealing with the consequences.

We both were.

Except...there really weren't any consequences for me if this got out. I was the victim in the situation even if I did pursue him. I was seventeen and he was an adult. People, my dad included, would see me as the innocent little girl who'd been pressured by an older guy. It wouldn't matter that I'd lied. All people would see was a man who slept with a teenager.

I went back inside and asked if there was anything else I could to help clean up. When Carmen denied my offer, I told my parents I was going across the street to Rosalie's house. I had a feeling she wasn't home, but I could use our spare key and wait for her. If I waited for her at my house, my parents would know something was wrong.

When I got up to her room, I texted her and her mom that I was up here so they wouldn't be alarmed when they got home. It was so normal for me to be here without Rosalie that no one questioned my motives.

Rosalie must have sensed something was wrong when I texted her because she was home twenty minutes later. It was still early so I knew she wasn't willingly leaving her date. She walked into her room and gave me a quizzical look.

"Is this a talk where alcohol is needed?" She asked as she sat down on her bed with me. "I can raid the liquor cabinet."

I shook my head. "No, I'm good."

"What's up?" She asked. "I thought your parents were making you go to that boring business dinner."

"Our dad's new associate..." I closed my eyes and remembered the look on his face when he saw me and realized I wasn't twenty-one like I said I was. "Is Edward."

"Edward who?" She asked. Then her eyes widened. "Vegas Edward?"

I nodded. "And my parents made it a point to tell him I was a senior in high school so now he knows I lied about my age."

"Yikes," She grimaced.

I put my face in my hands and took a deep breath. "He was so upset, Rosalie. He thinks he's going to go to prison."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not eighteen."

She nodded. "Right."

"And he thinks he's going to lose his job."

"But you lied about how old you were," She said. "It's not his fault."

"My dad won't see it that way," I reminded her. "All he'll see is a grown man who took advantage of a young, naive girl."

"It's not like Edward took your virginity," Somehow she wasn't quite getting it.

I shook my head. "That won't matter to him and you know it."

"What are you going to do?" She asked after a long pause. I could tell she was trying to do damage control in her head...but there was also a sparkle in her eyes I didn't like.

I shrugged. "Avoid him."

"He works for your dad, how are you going to do that?"

"I have no idea," I said. "But...it's not like I'm going to see him that often. At least I hope not."

"Are you still going out with Paul tomorrow?"

Shit. I'd totally forgotten about Paul and our date.

I groaned and laid back down on her bed. "Yeah. I mean...Edward and I are over," I said. "I mean we weren't even really together. We had sex a few times and hung out at the pool for a few days."

"Are you going to bring Paul to the gala still?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

She sighed. "Won't Edward be there?"

I shrugged. "I have no clue. And I think he's going to avoid anything I'm at for his entire life."

"Well," She smiled. "Senior year just got a whole lot more interesting."

"I could have lived without all this drama."

"But then it wouldn't have been fun," She shoved me with her shoulder.

I stared at her. "Fun? Fun for who?"

"Me, of course," She laughed and I couldn't help but smile. Rosalie knew when things were serious and she wasn't trying to diminish any of this. But, she also knew that laughter was the best medicine. "Plus, if Edward does come to the ball then we get to stare at him wearing a tux."

"Rosalie."

She shrugged. "If he looked that good in khaki shorts and a t-shirt...imagine what he looks like wearing a formal tux."

She was right. I pictured it in my head and he looked fucking fantastic.

"I hate you."

"Love you too, babe," She smiled and slung her arm around my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. I rested my head on her shoulder and took a deep breath. She sat with me in silence, allowing me time to just think about everything. I felt awful for all of the pain and confusion I'd caused Edward and she knew that.

I was really lucky to have Rose in my corner all the time.

But I felt even luckier to have her right now.

* * *

I was just pulling on my jean jacket when I heard a car in the driveway. I snuck a peak out of the window and smiled when I saw Paul getting out of his big SUV so he could be a gentleman and come to my door to get me for our date. I smiled when I heard the doorbell ring and took one last look in the mirror before going downstairs.

"It's so nice to see you again, Paul," Mom gushed as I walked down the steps. She looked up at me and smiled. "You look beautiful, Bella."

I couldn't help but laugh. I was wearing a sundress, not a prom dress. "Thanks, mom."

"Hey," Paul smiled kind of awkwardly at me. And it was a little bit awkward. We were good friends, but we'd always hung out with other people there. We had never really been alone together. But he wasn't so awkward that it made me feel uncomfortable.

"Ready?" I asked and took his arm and pulled him out the door before my mother could say anything else. "Bye, mom!" I called and waved. She waved back before closing the door and we were finally alone with each other.

Things were already going better with Paul than with Liam on our first date.

He opened the car door for me and when he finally got in on the driver's side, he turned and smiled at me. He told me that he hoped he picked the perfect spot for our first date and when he pulled into the small diner's parking lot, I nodded.

"I know it's not fancy," He sighed. "But you're always saying that you don't need to be showered in expensive things."

"Paul,"

"And I remembered you always seemed kind of uncomfortable when Liam took you to really fancy restaurants."

"This is perfect," I assured him and he looked relieved. Rosalie would have killed someone for taking her to the diner for a first date. But, Paul was right. My parents had a lot of money, but I'd always been a very simple girl. It was fun to go to fancy places and dress up every once and a while, but I felt way better at places like this.

Plus, the diner had the best food in town. It was always worth it to come here.

When the two of us walked through the front door, the older hostess smiled at us.

"Look who we have here," She winked at me. Maria knew everyone in this town and she knew all of their business. She knew the day Liam broke up with me and she called him a scummy idiot for it. "First date?"

"Yep," Paul nodded proudly while she grabbed the menus and took us to our table. We sat down across from each other and opened the menus...even though we both already knew the menu by heart. When we were freshman in high school, our group of friends came here after every football game for dessert so we had tried almost everything on the menu already.

After we ordered our food, the two of us got talking.

"My dad wants me to fly out to New York for Thanksgiving," He told me as we munched on our basket of fries. "He called and asked me this morning."

"Do you want to go to New York?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. I hated being there all summer. I felt like I'd abandoned my mom."

"Didn't she make you go?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "But I still felt bad. I don't want to leave her for the holidays too."

I shrugged. "I'm sure she'd understand if you chose to be with your dad."

"My dad isn't a good guy. I bet that something would come up and I'd spend Thanksgiving with the housekeeper instead of him."

I smiled. "I wouldn't mind spending time alone with my housekeeper."

"Yeah, but your parents would never leave you on a holiday."

"Sometimes I wish they would."

"Why do you say that?"

I paused and thought about it. "They're always so worried about me. Especially my mom. I never have much time to myself."

It was strange telling Paul all this stuff on our first date. I didn't talk about my parents with Liam much until we'd been dating for three months. He knew some things, but nothing this deep. After our food arrived, the conversation got less serious and by the end of dinner, my stomach was hurting from laughing so much.

Paul took me down to the river and we took a long, moonlit stroll. It was one of the most romantic things any guy had ever done for me and I was starting to wonder if he was actually a seventeen-year-old boy. When I only had thirty minutes before my curfew, he drove me home and walked me to my door.

"I had a great time tonight," I bit my lip, anxiously waiting for him to kiss me.

He smiled as he stepped a little bit closer to me. "Me too," He bent down and pressed his lips to mine. When his lips touched mine...something unexpected happened.

I felt...nothing.

There was no electricity. There was no passion. It was like kissing my brother or cousin.

And then I started thinking about how it felt when Edward kissed me back in Vegas. It was so heated and passionate and I wanted to keep kissing him. With Paul, I was kind of just waiting for it to be over.

When he finally pulled away, I wasn't sure what to say.

But then I got a good look at his face and I could tell he was feeling the same way.

I sighed. "So..."

"That's not what I was expecting," he said. "It was a good kiss."

"Very nice," I agreed. "But I didn't feel a spark. Did you?"

He shook his head. "It was like kissing a family member."

"Yeah."

"Damnit," He laughed as he ran his hands through his hair. "I so wanted this to work."

"So did I," I said. "I'm really sorry."

"Hey, you didn't do anything."

"Still sucks."

He nodded. "Still friends?"

"Absolutely," I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Goodnight, Paul."

"Night, Bella," He sighed and walked back to his car. I checked my phone for the time and texted Rosalie to come over for an emergency. As soon as I saw the text had been delivered, I saw her front door open and she was sprinting across the street.

"Are...you okay?" She asked as she caught her breath. She looked at me and realized that I wasn't actually in trouble and put her hands on her hips. "You look fine. There's no emergency here."

I shrugged as I opened the front door. "If I told you I needed to talk you would have made me wait."

"Alexander McClain was _on top of me_ , Bella."

"Sorry," I whispered.

"I was shirtless... _he_ was shirtless."

"Paul kissed me."

Her eyes almost popped out of her head. " _That's_ your emergency?"

"And I felt nothing," I kept going. "It was like kissing my brother."

"Ew," She rolled her eyes. "This isn't an emergency."

"Rose!" I squealed and she groaned as she slumped onto the couch. "I really like Paul. I wanted this to work."

"I know," She nodded. "But, Bella, you've been friends with Paul for a long time and have never developed any sort of romantic feelings for him."

"Everyone likes Paul."

"Right but you've never mentioned wanting to date him until now."

"I haven't been single until now," I pointed out. "Liam and I dated for two years."

"And you've known Paul since the fourth grade and never talked about having a crush on him or wanting to date him."

I rolled my eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"Maybe you were using Paul as a way to get over Liam and forget about Edward."

"I'm over Liam and the only reason Edward was even kind of in the picture was that he showed up to my house last night."

She sighed. "Maybe you are over Liam, but you've been thinking about Edward since he left Vegas, Bella. And now he's working with your dad and you're thinking about all that...hot, passionate sex you two had."

"Shhhhh!" I shushed. "My parents are upstairs."

She stood up. "Look, don't feel bad. Was Paul okay when he left?"

"He said he felt the same way after we kissed," I shrugged.

"Then there isn't anything to worry about," She shrugged. "Not every guy you go on a date with is going to end up being your boyfriend and not every kiss is going to be this magical zing of electricity."

"Yeah,"

She headed for the front door. "Now, if you will excuse me I'm going to go back to my date with Alex."

"Use a condom!" I called as I shut the door behind her.

* * *

Two weeks later, my dad asked me to join him for lunch since he'd been working late on a really big case. I was hesitant at first because I didn't want to make Edward feel uncomfortable, but I couldn't turn my dad down. He would know something was up because I always loved going to see him at work.

And he got me out of school early on days like this so we weren't rushed at lunch so that was always a bonus.

Plus, it was my dad's law firm. I was allowed to come and go as I pleased. If he had a problem with it he was going to have to deal with it.

"Have fun at lunch!" Rosalie sang as I grabbed my things from my locker. "Say hello to Edward for me."

I rolled my eyes as I slammed my locker shut. "I'm going to avoid Edward today."

"How?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. But I'm going to have to."

"Why?"

"He was so squirmy at dinner two weeks ago. I just don't want him to say anything we'd both get into trouble for."

"Whatever. See you later!" She said as she walked towards the cafeteria. I pulled my jacket on and headed to my car. I drove downtown and turned into the parking garage for my dad's office building. I made my way to the tenth floor and was greeted by the firm's receptionist and headed back towards my dad's big office.

Dad's secretary looked up from her computer and smiled at me. "Hello, Bella."

"Hi, Hailey. Is my dad in his office?" I asked

She nodded. "He just got off the phone. You can go ahead back."

"Thanks!" I smiled as I pushed his door open. "Hi, dad," I smiled as I walked into the room. He looked up and smiled at me and told me to give him five more minutes to work on whatever he was doing. I sat down in the big chair in front of his desk and scrolled through Instagram while I waited.

"Charlie, I have those files you..." Edward said as he walked into the office. I stiffened and tried not to look at him while he was in here. Eventually this would pass, but for now, I just needed to avoid him. "Asked for."

"Thanks, Edward," Dad stood up and took the file from him. He looked through the file and shook his head. "No, this is all wrong. I'm going to speak to Bill about this. Excuse me."

Dad walked out of the office and left Edward and me alone. I finally looked up at him and my heart skipped a beat. He was so fucking gorgeous it was ridiculous. Last time I saw him we were both so panicked and trying not to cause a scene I'd forgotten how good he looked.

But looking at him in his suit...I couldn't help myself when I licked my lips.

He looked down at me and caught me staring and gulped. Within a few seconds, Edward had bolted out of the room before I could even say hi to him. Before I really knew what I was doing, I jumped out of the chair and followed him.

"Edward," I called as I followed him through the office. I passed by a janitors closet, gripped his arm, and pulled him inside the closet with me.

"What are you doing?" He whisper-yelled as I flipped the light switch on.

I sighed. "You could at least pretend to be civil towards me," I told him. "You don't have to ignore me."

"It's easier this way, Bella," He wasn't even looking at me. "Can I go now."

"Look," I sighed. "We fucked...a lot...in Vegas. Being a dick and avoiding me isn't going to change that."

His breath hitched. "We shouldn't talk about that."

I could hear Rosalie's voice in the back of my mind telling me to torture him and I wouldn't have normally, but since he was rude I decided to do it. "Talk about what?"

"Vegas."

"Oh," I nodded. "You don't want to talk about us...fucking?"

His breath hitched again. "Yeah. That doesn't need to be brought up."

"Why?" I asked as I touched his arm and I felt that same electricity as before. It wasn't gone.

"Because you're a child."

"I'm seventeen," I reminded him. "Don't you remember how good it was, Edward."

"It was fine."

I smirked. "I loved when you fucked me on the dresser after getting back from the pool the second day we were there. You felt so good inside of me."

"Bella, this isn't fair."

"Why not?"

He took a deep breath. "Because all I wanna do right now is..." He trailed off as he leaned forward. His lips almost touched mine before he realized what he was doing and pulled away from me. "I have to go."

I sighed. "Shit," I whispered as I followed him out of the closet.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : _Hi guys! Thanks for reading this chapter and I'm so sorry this took so long. I have a full-time job so it's been hard finding time to write chapters. I have a good chunk of this story mapped out now so_ hopefully _that'll make things easier for me._

 _See you next chapter!_


	6. Shame on Me Now

**Chapter Six: Shame on Me Now**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

I wasn't quite sure how I'd ended up in a closet with Bella at work, but all I could think about was how good she smelled and how good her boobs looked in the dress she was wearing.

 _God, I was such a pig._

And then she brought up Vegas and I could feel myself hardening at the thought of her naked in my bed. I thought about how she looked in that little bikini and how she danced on me. I thought about kissing every inch of her body and fucking her against the door of my hotel room.

I _was a pig going to hell. That was sure._

"Bella, this isn't fair," I breathed as she touched my arms and talked about our time in Vegas together. I had just started to calm down a bit and stop thinking about her and...boom here she was.

"Why not?" She looked up at me with those big, brown... _fuck me now_ eyes and I bit my lip and took a deep breath.

"Because all I wanna do right now is..." I suddenly forgot where we were and who she was and started learning in to kiss her. Our lips had almost touched when I heard a phone ring and got a grip on myself. I pulled away from her and turned the doorknob. "I have to go."

I slammed the door open and quickly made sure no one was paying attention before I stepped out. I didn't need people asking me why I was in there and I really didn't need people asking me why I was in there with Bella.

I walked out of the closet back towards my office. I quickly wondered if anyone had seen us, but my only mission right now was to keep calm. I hoped I wouldn't make an ass out of myself with Richard or Charlie or anyone for that matter, but I was so worked up it was possible. I got to my small office and closed the door and took a few deep breaths. I also realized that I had a raging erection and I started thinking about my grandmother to try and get rid of it.

I jumped when there was a soft knock on my door. I took a few more deep breaths, thought about grandma, and opened the door. I rolled my eyes when I saw Bella standing there.

"What?" I asked. Why couldn't she just leave me alone? I looked up and looked in her big, brown eyes and suddenly felt a little bad for barking at her. But she'd caused this whole mess...the episode in the closet was no exception.

She sighed. "Can I come in?"

"Are you going to try and seduce me again?" I asked as I crossed my arms across my chest.

She shook her head. She looked embarrassed and guilty about what had happened. "No." I sighed and stepped to the side and let her inside. I kept the office door open, though. I was not going to get caught alone with her and I wasn't going to give her the chance to do what she did earlier. "I'm sorry."

"You should be, Bella!" I whisper-yelled. "That little stunt back there could have cost me my job if anyone had opened that door and found us in there together..."

"I know," She looked at the floor and kicked her leg back and forth.

"I spent enough time with you in Vegas to know that you're a very smart girl," I said. "What the fuck were you thinking?" I was whispering because I didn't need the entire office hearing this conversation, but it was difficult to keep quiet.

She shrugged. "You were rude to me earlier."

"So you thought seducing me in a janitors closet was good revenge?"

"I'm sorry," She was looking at the ground and biting her lip. I just wanted this nightmare to end but I was getting the feeling it would never end. At least not until she went to college.

I rubbed my eyes and thought of what to say next. I really didn't want to hurt her but I also couldn't have her trying that again. "Look, Bella. Nothing is going to happen between us. Whatever we had in Vegas is over. We can't be together. _Ever_ again."

"Okay," She nodded.

"Please, for the sake of both of us, leave me alone," I begged. It was funny because a few weeks ago I imagined what it would have been like if we could have been together. Or at least saw where what we had took us. And now I was practically on my hands and knees asking her to leave me alone.

Which sucked because when we weren't having sex, I really enjoyed talking to her. She was wise beyond her years...that was certain now that I knew how old she actually was. I considered her a friend when we parted ways and I had actually thought about texting her a few days before that disastrous dinner.

"I'll try and be polite around you...because you're my boss' daughter," I said. "But don't go looking for me to be your new best friend."

"I don't know what I was thinking," She shrugged. "And I'm sorry for coming onto you. Really...I am."

"Just don't do it again," I said flatly.

There was a soft knock on my door and my heart started beating when I saw Charlie standing there. "There you are, sweetie. What are you two talking about?"

We looked at each other and Bella gave me a look telling me she got this. "I was telling him about the charity ball."

"Oh," Charlie smiled. "Well, since Bella has been talking about it, would you like to come?"

"Come to what?"

"The charity ball," Charlie smiled and Bella bit her lip. "It's two weeks from tomorrow."

"Oh...ah..."

"You're more than welcome to bring a date," He said. "It won't just be stuffy, old people. There will plenty of people around your age and some kids Bella's age as well."

I nodded reluctantly. I couldn't exactly turn down his offer. That would be super rude and I didn't want him thinking I was avoiding it. "Sure. I'd love to go."

"Excellent!" He beamed as he clapped his hands. "I'll get my secretary to give you the information."

"Let's go, dad," Bella pushed him out the door. When he was out of earshot, she turned around and met my gaze. "My birthday is the night of the charity ball. I'll be eighteen then."

"Bella..."

"Just...think about that," She smiled and then followed her dad.

Well...fuck.

Now, what was I supposed to do? I mean I was going to stay away from her but that little comment didn't make me feel any better. I hated this entire situation and it really sucked that I couldn't talk to my parents about what was going on. I knew it made me sound like a mamma's boy or something, but whenever I had a big problem my parents were always there for me. And they always knew exactly what to say.

But I couldn't tell them without feeling like I'd let them down. I texted Jasper, asking if they were busy tonight and he invited me over for dinner. I somehow managed to make it through the rest of the day without making a fool out of myself or saying something incriminating and made my way across town to Alice and Jasper's.

"This is nice. Your life is complete chaos now. Come on, tell your big bro what's wrong," He chuckled as I sat down on his couch and Alice smacked the back of his head. "What? I finally feel like a big brother."

"Jazz," Alice warned.

He smirked. "My baby brother finally needs advice from his big brother."

"Get a grip, Jasper. I don't need advice, I just need to vent to someone," I sighed. "You aren't _that_ special."

"Fuck you," He gave me the middle finger, but then his smile faded and he turned serious. "You okay? What happened?"

I told them about how hard it had been trying not to think about Bella lately and what we'd done together in Vegas. And then I told them about our awkward encounter in Charlie's office and then what happened in the closet. I could tell Jasper wasn't sure to scold me for not taking her up on her offer or give me advice on how to avoid her better.

"And now I have to go to this fucking charity ball in two weeks and she'll be there and she'll look amazing," I babbled. "And her eighteenth birthday is that night."

Jasper nodded. "And that's...bad?"

"It means that she's a legal adult so they could be together without the potential of getting into trouble with the law," Alice explained. "Do you want to be with her?"

I shrugged. "No. She's too young for me and she's my boss' kid."

"But you wanna have sex with her again?" Jasper asked. My big brother really knew how to handle situations like this.

"No," Jasper stared at me, telling me he knew me better than that. "Well...yeah. But I feel dirty for wanting that."

"You're not some fifty-year-old man who's after her, Edward," Jasper reminded me. "You're twenty-six. You're only eight years older than her."

"You don't get it."

"No, I don't," He agreed. "If you two had met a few months later this wouldn't be a problem. Or if she had been eighteen in Vegas this wouldn't be a problem."

"She'd still be my boss' kid."

"And you'd figure out how to deal with that," Jasper sighed like I was some kind of moron. "Edward, I have to be blunt. Either be with her when she turns eighteen or figure out a way to get over her."

Alice sighed. "Jasper."

"I'm being honest, Ali. There aren't many options and I can't sit here and listen to him whine about it constantly."

"Thanks. You're really helpful, Jasper."

He shrugged. "You know me. You knew this is what I'd say which is why you came here."

"I told you..."

He cut me off. "You could have just asked to talk to Alice. She would have let you vent your frustrations, but you wanted to talk to both of us. Don't act so offended and hurt by what I said."

Jasper was right. I didn't have many options right now and I just needed to pick something. I could either wait until she turned eighteen to do...anything with her or I could just get over it. And if she wasn't Charlie's daughter, I probably would just wait until she was eighteen but I couldn't do that. Being with her...sneaking around with her wouldn't be fair to her or smart for my career.

After eating dinner with my brother, I headed back to my apartment. I planned on taking a cold shower and going straight to bed. I just wanted a fresh start in the morning. When I got to my door, one of my neighbors was struggling to open her front door and balance the grocery bags in her arms.

"Can I help?" I asked as she dropped one of her bags. She looked up at me and gave me a weak nod. I took the remaining bags for her and she was able to get her door open. She picked up the bag that had fallen and smiled at me.

"Thanks," She sighed. "It's been a long day."

I noticed she was wearing scrubs and wondered if she was a doctor or a nurse. "Where do you work?"

"I'm a PA at Northwestern Memorial," She told me. "I'm Tonya."

"Edward," I smiled. I took a second to check her out and she was very pretty. She wasn't wearing very much make up and her hair was pulled back into a braid, but somehow that made her even prettier. "Have you lived here long?"

"I've been here for three years," She said. "You just moved in, right?"

I nodded. "Just a month or so ago."

"How do you like Chicago?" She asked as she ushered me inside. I set the grocery bags on her kitchen table and watched as she began putting things away. "I've lived here my entire life, so I'm a little bias."

"I like it so far," I chuckled. "It really is windy here."

"We don't get the nickname "windy city" for nothing."

"Right," I laughed nervously. "Do you have a roommate?"

She shook her head. "Nope. Just me. Do you?"

"No, but I work a lot so I'm only ever home to sleep."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer," I told her. "I just started at a law firm in the city."

"Wow, that's pretty impressive."

I nodded. "It took a lot of hard work, but it seems to be paying off."

"Seems like it," She smiled. "Look, I hate to be rude...but I'm so tired and feel so gross."

"Oh, right!" I said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to keep bothering you."

"You weren't bothering me," She assured me. "So I was wondering if you'd want to get drinks tomorrow night?"

I gulped and froze for some reason. "Uh...yeah. That'd be great."

"You sure?" She asked. "You don't sound very convinced."

"No!" I promised. "I've just been really busy with school and starting my job that I haven't really been on a date in a long time. But, I'd love to get drinks with you."

She blushed. "Great. Pick me up at seven?"

"Yeah, seven is good," We said goodbye and I left her to get ready for bed. I went back to my apartment and got showered and into bed. This week, and today, in particular, was draining and I was excited to be able to sleep in a little.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up without an alarm and got ready to go workout at the gym. It was something I always loved doing, but I hadn't been able to get there recently. Then, my mother called telling me I was working too much and I needed to start doing the things I loved to do. I told her I would ease up on work a bit and was trying to get back into a gym routine.

But, I could only ease up on work a bit because I was working on a pretty big case. It was the biggest case I had been given and I wanted to make sure I had all my bases covered to impress Richard and Charlie. I worked for a few hours before heading home to get ready for my date.

I showered and shaved and pulled on a pair of khaki pants and a jean material button down. I was just finishing brushing my teeth when my phone started buzzing. I considered it since it was Jasper, but I knew he'd probably just call back, so I answered.

"What?" I asked.

He laughed. "Well hello to you too, little brother."

"I have somewhere to be soon, so can you just get on with it?"

"Ooooo, where are you going?"

"Jasper!" I grunted.

"I'm not going to say anything until you tell me."

"How on earth did you manage to get someone to marry you?"

"Don't know, don't care," He laughed.

I groaned, knowing he would never give up until I told him. "I have a date tonight, okay?"

"A secret date with Bella?" He sounded way too eager.

"No," I sighed. "With a girl who lives in my building. I met her last night."

"Well aren't we desperate to get over a..." He trailed off. "A certain seventeen-year-old," He whisper-yelled."

"Jasper!"

"Okay," He laughed. "Mom wants to get brunch on Sunday."

"Why didn't she call me herself?"

"I told her I'd mention it to you," He said. "You in?"

"Of course," I shrugged. I got the information from him quickly and hung up. I grabbed my keys and wallet and left to pick Tonya up from down the hall.

"Wow, you're punctual," She giggled when she opened the door. I looked at my watch and saw that it was exactly seven o'clock.

I bit my lip. "I've never gone on a date with someone who lives so close,"

"Hey, I like a man who can be on time," She said. "My best friend is always late, so on time is a nice change of pace."

"So, I looked up a few places but since you know the city better, is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment and then her face lit up. "Do you like dancing?"

"Umm..." I stuttered. "What kind of dancing?"

"Don't worry, I don't want to drag you to some college dance club," She laughed. "There's a great place for drinks and dancing if you're into that."

I could see that she seemed to really like this place, so I nodded my head yes. I walked us down to the parking garage and opened the car door for her.

"Wow, such a gentleman," She smiled as I gently closed the door for her. I put the address in Google Maps and we headed in that direction. We pulled into a small parking lot and I let out a laugh when I saw the name of the place.

"It's Swing Dancing," I smiled.

She blushed. "Hope that's okay."

"I've done it a few times," I laughed. She led me inside and we got a table close to the dance floor. It wasn't very crowded, but there were enough people that I wouldn't look like a total idiot while we danced. We both ordered our drinks because I knew I was going to need some liquid courage before I could go out there with her.

Tonya and I spent a good hour talking and getting to know each other before she asked if I wanted to dance. I took one last sip of my beer and nodded. I let her lead me onto the dance floor and then I took her waist.

"I don't' know what I'm doing!" I admitted loudly over the music.

She laughed and started moving. "Just go with it! Don't think!"

I did what she suggested and started moving with the music. I certainly didn't look like a complete idiot, but I didn't look as bad as I thought I would. We danced for a few songs and then she mentioned she was working up an appetite. I suggested getting out of there and going for a bite to eat.

She picked this 50's style diner a few blocks down the road.

"We would always come here after football games in college," She said. "And we went Swing Dancing a lot too."

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun in college."

"You didn't?"

I shrugged. "I had fun, but it was...lame fun."

"What's lame fun?"

"My friends and I were pretty low key," I told her. "We watched a lot of movies and went bowling a lot. And once we were twenty-one we went to regular bars."

"My older sister went to the same school and we're only two years apart," She explained. "It was like I already had a group of friends when I started and I wanted to fit in with them. So I did a lot with them that first semester and once I made my own friends, I dragged them to those places."

"I don't think I would have ever considered going to the same school as my brother," I thought. "He would have driven me crazy."

"My sister is my best friend," She said. "She and her husband are expecting their first baby."

"That's exciting," I smiled. "My brother is getting married in November."

Once we finished eating, I drove us back to our apartment building. I would have loved to stay out longer, but she told me she had work in the morning. Life as a PA was unpredictable and she didn't have a steady schedule quite yet.

We stood at her door and I wasn't totally sure what to do. I wasn't sure if she wanted me to kiss her...and I wasn't even totally sure I wanted to kiss her. I really liked her and had a lot of fun on our date, but there didn't seem to be much chemistry.

At least I wasn't feeling much chemistry.

"Thanks for tonight," She smiled, biting her lip.

I nodded. "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," She blushed as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against mine. I put my hands on her waist as she put her arms around my neck. She was a good kisser but she wasn't anything compared to Bella.

Fucking Bella...

We kissed for a few seconds and then she backed away. She was blushing and licked her lips.

There was no spark, so I just smiled at her.

"I'll see you later?" She asked and I just nodded. I could tell she really liked me and I honestly just wanted to be friends with her.

I watched as she went inside and then went to my own apartment.

Jasper was right. I really needed to figure out what I wanted to do about Bella.

And fast.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Hey guys! Wow, I am **SO SORRY** it's been so long! When I started writing this story, I had a lot of inspiration but I honestly just haven't been very inspired to write. Plus, life got super busy with job searching and vacations and moving. _

_I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and things are about to get messy ;)_


	7. I Know I Don't Understand

**Chapter Seven: I Know I Don't Understand**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"Why are you staring at me?" I asked Rosalie as the tailor made some of her final adjustments to my dress.

Rose looked up at me and smirked, which meant she was up to no good. Miss Eden instructed Rosalie to go take off her gown so the final alterations could be made to her blush-colored dress. When Rosalie went back to get changed, Miss Victoria looked up at me and smiled.

"She's always getting into trouble," Miss Victoria smiled as she worked. Rosalie and I had been coming to this dress shop since we were old enough to fit into their gowns. We bought our homecoming and prom dresses here and we always got our dresses for the charity ball here.

Miss Eden and Miss Victoria were practically family at this point.

Rosalie came out of her dressing room, handed Miss Eden her dress and walked in front of me.

"What?" I asked again and she just smirked.

"Miss Victoria, could we please have a moment?" Rose asked and the two women went back behind the curtain to their shop. They were staying open late for us since we had things to do after school and I hated that Rosalie was making them wait even longer.

"Rose, you're being ridiculous."

"You don't even know what I'm thinking."

I sighed. "I know it's probably ridiculous."

"Bella," She sighed. "This dress is beautiful. Everything in this store is beautiful and you look great in everything you put on."

"You kicked them out to tell me I look good in this dress?"

She shook her head. She was up to something and I didn't want to know what. "But...I think you should pick something else to wear."

I laughed. She had to be joking. The ball was in a week and we always got our dress at least a month in advance so alterations could be made. Plus, I really liked my dress this year. It was a deep, navy blue with off the shoulder sleeves. I felt really grown up and elegant in it and I wasn't going to change it now because Rosalie was having a moment.

"You're joking," I sighed. "Right?"

"Nope."

"Rose..."

She smiled. "Don't you want to make Edward drool."

I stared at her. "No," I shook my head. Although Paul and his family couldn't go anymore didn't mean I was going to spend the evening chasing Edward around. He'd made it pretty clear last week that he didn't want anything to do with me and I wasn't going to act like a child by pursuing him. He was an adult and I was a fucking senior in high school. If the roles were reversed, I'd be treating him the way he was treating me.

I had been a brat that day in the closet and I didn't want anything to do with myself.

"Come on, he's got a thing for you," She pushed. "And I know you like him."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I like him. But whatever we had in Vegas needs to stay there. I'm not going to chase him around like some pathetic seventeen year old."

"You'll be eighteen the night of the charity ball," She wiggled her eyebrows. I started wondering what would have happened if Rose had been sitting next to him at the pool that day. She probably wouldn't be taking no for an answer and she'd probably have talked him into being completely reckless. "At least try on the dress I have in mind."

"Why?"

"You're way sexier than this dress shows."

"It's a charity ball, Rose. Not some stripper bar."

She started to pout. "Please?"

"Fine," I groaned. "I'll try it on but I'm not promising anything. Plus, it'll probably need to be altered and we won't have time for that."

Rosalie went to the back where they were waiting for us and asked them to take a dress off of the mannequin. The dress really wasn't my style and I wasn't sure if my dad would love it. Don't get me wrong, it was gorgeous. The dress was black with a deep v-neck in the front and it was backless. The dress was tight and fanned out into a trumpet at the bottom and when I tried it on...I had to give credit where credit was due.

I looked hot and I probably would have Edward drooling all over me.

But that wasn't the point of the ball and I turned to Rosalie who was practically glowing.

"No," I shook my head.

"It fits you perfectly, Bella."

"I don't care. I like the dress I picked out."

Rosalie sighed. "I think it's a sign."

"What is?"

"The fact that it pits so perfectly,"

I looked down and tried to find a flaw in her argument. "It's too long."

"Pish posh!" Miss Victoria smiled as she walked up to us. She started doing her measurements and then pulled up the bottom of the skirt to a better length. "It only needs to be taken up a few inches. I could do that in my sleep."

"But you put so much work into the blue dress," I argued.

She shrugged. "Now you have a dress for another fancy occasion,"

"My dad already paid for this dress," I didn't want to buy this dress to make Edward think I was hot.

Rosalie smiled. "Bella, your father would buy you ten dresses if you asked him to," She said. "This charity ball is happening because you came along when they thought all hope was lost."

Sometimes...I hated being their miracle baby.

Because I always seemed to be guilted into things because of that.

Rosalie smiled. "Come on, Bella. When was the last time you looked at yourself and felt that you looked sexy and worthy of a guy?"

"He's off-limits, Rose."

"But you can make him wish he wasn't," She smiled and after a few minutes of thinking it over, I reluctantly agreed to buy the dress. Victoria took another forty minutes, putting in pins where it needed to be taken up and then I got dressed so we could go.

I wanted to be mad at Rosalie, but I was pretty sure her heart was in the right place.

She just wasn't great at showing that.

* * *

A week later Miss Victoria worked her magic and the dress fit me perfectly. When I explained to my dad Rose had practically forced me to buy another dress, he simply kissed my forehead and told me I could have all the dresses in the world.

Miracle baby problems.

"I told you that dress was perfect," Rosalie smiled as Carmen helped me get into it the night of the charity ball. Rose had come over earlier so we could get ready together and we'd just gotten her into her gown. She looked flawless, but that wasn't a big surprise.

I rolled my eyes. "Are you excited to see Ben tonight?"

"Yes," She said matter of factly. Rosalie had always said that she was young and she wasn't someone who wanted to be in a serious relationship while in high school. Ben was a friend from another school who always went with Rosalie to these kinds of things because they really were just friends. He didn't expect anything from her and she didn't feel pressured to go and sleep with him or fall in love with him.

It had been a while since we'd seen Ben since he graduated last year and went to school in the state of Washington.

After Carmen zipped me up, both of our mothers were calling our names for us to come downstairs. When we came into view, my mom started to tear up and Margret grinned.

"Beautiful girls," Dad smiled as he came and kissed my cheek. "Happy birthday, baby."

I blushed. "Thanks, daddy."

"The photographer is here," Carmen announced right at five-thirty. The six of us piled into the living room by our giant fireplace and we had our pictures taken. We had group pictures, family pictures, and pictures with just Rose and I. You would have thought we were going to get married or something, but since this was my eighteenth birthday, my mom had gone a little overboard.

To me, this was normal, but to anyone else, she was going way too over the top.

"I like the new dress," Mom smiled, but then she raised an eyebrow at me. "It's a little revealing, isn't it?"

I suddenly felt subconscious. I crossed my arms over my chest and licked my lips nervously. "I think it covers enough."

"It just looks like something Rose would wear," Mom shrugged and then touched my arm. I took some offense to her comment because it seemed like she was calling Rosalie a little bit slutty and by association...she was calling me a little bit slutty.

"Don't listen to her," Rose whispered in my ear as we went outside to get into the limo. The six of us got into the limo and the adults made a toast with champagne and gave Rose and I sparkling cyder. When we got to the hotel, there were already some people outside waiting for us.

The ball didn't start for another thirty minutes.

When we got inside, mom and Margaret ran around with the party planner doing some last-minute checks and Rose and I found our way to the bar to see if they'd let us sneak drinks.

We were recognized immediately and sent away.

"And if you try this again we will tell your parents," The bartenders boss threatened as we turned to walk away.

After thirty minutes, the band started playing their music and the doors opened up. People began to file in and we started to greet them. After twenty minutes, our parents let us go so we could go mingle with our friends before everyone was seated for dinner.

As we were talking to Ben, Jessica and Mike, Rosalie turned around and smiled.

"Hubba hubba," She giggled and I turned to see who she was looking at.

I turned around to see Edward looking as hot as ever in his tuxedo speaking to my parents. He wore a crisp, black tux and had a deep green bowtie to match his eyes. He smiled as my mother greeted him and I felt my heart skip a beat. He looked up and his eyes met mine and I bit my lip in anticipation.

It was like there were fireworks or something going off inside the ballroom.

"Nothing between you, huh?" Rosalie whispered in my ear, breaking my trance. I turned to her and rolled my eyes to try and tell her that she was crazy. "I could feel the tension from here."

But she wasn't crazy. I wanted him and it sucked that nothing would ever happen. I would always be a kid to him and I refused to chase him.

I was about to go and say hello to him, but a tall, blonde woman came up and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled at her and I felt my stomach drop. He'd brought a date. A beautiful date. I shouldn't have been surprised. He was taking extra care to make sure I got the point that we were not going to become a thing.

Before I could muster up the courage and walk over to him, I was whisked away from my spot by my father to say hello to some of the big donors of the evening. I talked with a few men and their wives and when I was finally set free, I couldn't find Edward anywhere.

"Sorry, boo," Rosalie sighed as she sat down before my parents gave their annual speech.

I looked at her. "Why?"

"Because he brought a date," She whispered.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I shrugged and focused my attention on my mom who was getting ready to get everyone's attention.

After my parents gave their speech and thanked everyone for coming, the waiters started coming around with our food. My friends were a good distraction, but I couldn't get Edward out of my head. Especially since he was here with a girl.

Were they dating? How long had he known her? Were they somehow related and he was just bringing her to get me off his back?

I had so many questions that would remain unanswered.

After dinner, my mother and Rosalie pulled me to where a giant cake was being rolled out by one of the waiters. Dad got on the stage and told everyone we would be singing happy birthday and as people starting singing, I noticed Edward leave the ballroom.

Mom rubbed my arms as the singing stopped. "Make a wish, baby."

I thought for a second and bent down to blow out my candals. I stood up and looked at my mom, who was wiping away a few tears.

"Mom, are you crying?"

She smiled and tried pretending like she wasn't. "My baby girl is all grown up."

"We still have a year before I go to college," I reminded her as I hugged her tight. "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Bella!" She squeezed me tight as dad joined us. They took the cake back to the kitchen to cut. I was feeling very warm from all the attention that had just been on me, so I excused myself onto the balcony.

When I opened the door, I felt a cool breeze on my face and jumped when I saw Edward leaning against the railing. I didn't want to bother him so I considered going inside before he saw me, but then the door slammed shut and he turned around.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I didn't know you were out here."

He nodded. "It's okay, Bella."

I didn't want to get too close to him, but the distance we were standing from each other was awkward. I took a few steps closer and he bit his lip. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I am."

"Who's your date?" I knew it wasn't any of my business, but I had to know. Or I at least had to ask.

He stood there for a few seconds like he was thinking of whether or not he was going to answer me. "She's a friend?"

"Just a friend?"

"Yeah. We're neighbors."

"Do you like her?"

"Does it matter?" He asked and I took a deep breath.

"No, it doesn't."

He shut his eyes tight. "If you must know, we went on a date a few weeks ago. It didn't work out romantically."

I perked up. "Oh?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "Because I can't get this...incredible girl out of my head," He was losing whatever battle he was fighting. I could tell. "The only problem is...she's too fucking young for me but she's driving me absolutely crazy."

"Why?"

"Because I can't get her out of my mind!"

My breath hitched. I couldn't take it anymore and I stepped closer to him and touched his cheek. I forced him to look up at me and he took a shuddering breath. "Today is my eighteenth birthday. I'm not a minor anymore."

"You're still my boss' child."

"I'm not a child anymore," I argued. "And what my dad doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Bella," He tried fighting it, but I wouldn't let him. I looked at the doors and made sure no one looked like they were about to come out and turned back to him. "We...can't."

I nodded. "We can," I whispered and leaned up and brushed my lips against his. He fought it for a second and then melted into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed me up against the balcony railing. He pushed himself closer to me and I could feel how hard he was.

The kiss became more passionate as we stood there. I ran my fingers through his beautiful, bronze hair and pushed even closer to him.

After another few seconds, he pushed away from me and took a few steps back. "This is wrong."

"Stop thinking about it."

"I can't!"

"Why?" I asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not one of those bumbling idiot teenager girls."

"I know that," He nodded. "You're amazing, Bella. I never would have guessed you were younger than twenty-one...you're smart and kind and you care about people."

"Edward,"

"And you're so fucking sexy I can't think of anyone else," He admitted. "Did you wear that dress to torture me?"

I smirked. "Rosalie convinced me to change dresses at the last moment."

"Of course she did," He rolled his eyes.

"Edward?"

He looked up. "What?"

"Shut up and kiss me," I demanded and I didn't have to say anything else. He walked towards me and pushed me against the railing and kissed me.

And I swear I saw stars.

Just then, the balcony doors swung open and we pulled apart. He stayed in front of me so no one would know who it was and I could feel him shaking.

"Bella?" I let out a breath. It was only Rosalie. Edward moved aside and Rosalie smiled big when she saw me. "You're parents are asking for you."

"Why?" Edward asked, panic in his voice.

Rose smiled. "Relax, they just want you to say hi to some more people."

"Okay," I turned to Edward who just nodded at me. There were things we needed to work out, but I didn't even care right now. I was high on him right now and nothing could ruin that.

After I talked to who my parents wanted me to, Rosalie dragged me into the womens bathroom. She shut and locked the door and demanded answers. I didn't hold anything back. She'd cuaght us red handed so she would know the information sooner or later.

"So? Now what?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I have no idea. That blonde he's with is his neighbor. If she saw us together...she knows who I am now."

"She doesn't even fucking matter right now," She rolled her eyes. "Are you two starting anything?"

"I don't know, Rose."

"Do you want to start anything?"

"I don't know."

"Well...figure it out!"

I laughed. "Thanks for that advice, Dr. Hale."

"Just doing my job."

As we left the bathroom, someone gripped my wrist and pulled me into one of the coat closets. Scared at first, I went to scream and then Edward turned on the light.

"Don't scream! It's me," He smiled.

I let out a breath. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," He giggled. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" I bit my lip.

He took a deep breath and looked like he was facing one of his fears. "Come home with me."

"Wh-what?"

"Come back to my place for the night," He smiled his sexy smile. "You've been driving me crazy all night in that fucking dress."

He leaned down and nibbled at my jaw. "That...feels nice."

"Come home with me then."

I nodded, not really able to think as he kissed his way down my neck. "Okay. I'll tell my folks I'm going to Rosalie's house. She'll cover for me."

"What about her parents?"

I smiled. "Her mother is wasted right now. And her dad will be here so late with other businessmen, he won't even know I'm supposed to be there."

"Perfect."

"What about your date?" I asked.

"Tanya and I are just friends," He assured me. "And, she left already."

"What? Why?"

He shrugged. "She didn't feel like she belonged here, so she called a friend to pick her up."

"So...we're free then?"

"To do whatever the fuck we want," He smiled.

"What brought on this extreme confidence?"

He shrugged. "I'm already going to hell, might as well have some fun."

"That sounds like Jasper talking," I laughed.

"You're right. That's what he told me when I called after you went with Rosalie," He laughed. "But, he's right. I've been a fucking train-wreck these last few weeks and...you're eighteen."

I smirked. "I like this Edward."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. He's extremely sexy," I leaned in. "And I'm getting wet just thinking about all the ways we're going to have fun tonight."

"Fuck," He muttered as I pulled away from him and left the closet.

I had to leave him wanting more.


End file.
